Summer in Saratoga shines in Indiana General Assembly Distaff

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Wednesday, July 7, 2021) — Summer in Saratoga turned her summer in Indiana into a victory for her connections, winning the 13th running of the Indiana General Assembly Distaff. Ridden by Corey Lanerie, the five-year-old mare recorded the time of the one and one-sixteenth mile turf race in 1:40.44, narrowly missing the stakes record.

Lanerie positioned Summer in Saratoga near the back early on as the Irish bred Raven’s Cry and Florent Geroux set the tempo. Lanerie had to move the Hard Spun mare four wide in the final turn to gain positioning for the stretch drive home.

Summer in Saratoga was just a few strides off the leaders as the field vied for the title. In the end, Summer in Saratoga scored the win by one length over Great Britain product Alnaseem and Adam Beschizza, who drew into the race after an early scratch. La Renoleta, bred in Argentina, and Francisco Arrieta won a tight three way-photo for third.

Summer in Saratoga was the third favorite of the field, paying $8.40 for the win. She is trained by Joe Sharp and owned by Laurence Hirsch’s Highlander Training Center. The win was her second of the season, both stakes wins for her connections. She is now five for 14 in her career and moved beyond the $300,000 mark in earnings with the win.

The last time Lanerie rode Summer in Saratoga, she stumbled at the start and pitched him to the ground. When asked about reuniting with the filly, Lanerie said, “It’s funny. You think about it and we took three jumps out of the gate before I was confident I was going to stay up. It was just one of those things that day. I don’t know what happened. It wasn’t the first jump. It was like the second or third. I think that’s why we fell, because after that (first stride), you don’t think it’s going to happen. Joe (Sharp) did a good job bringing her back. She had a race at Lone Star so she was good and tight, and we know she’s better on grass.”

Lanerie has a lot of experience aboard Summer in Saratoga. He has now won four races aboard her at four different tracks. It was his only mount on the Indiana Derby card, showing the confidence he had in driving up to Indiana Grand.

“Today — hindsight now — I just had to hang on,” added Lanerie. “She’s nice. She’s been really good to me. I think I’ve been beaten on her only once, maybe twice. When I stay on her, she’s a fun horse to ride. I thought I had ‘em at the three-eighths pole. I just didn’t want to move too early and get there too soon. But she was ready to go today.”

Sharp has been associated with Summer in Saratoga for all of her wins. She was a $200,000 yearling purchase and Sharp and her current connections purchased her from the Fasig Tipton Summer Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale in 2019 for $165,000.

“I think her last two races were obviously throw-outs,” said Sharp. “This is the year we were expecting of her after the way she came back off the layoff (winning the Fair Grounds’ Tom Benson Memorial in her first start since a Sept. 10 allowance victory at Kentucky Downs). I was just really happy to get to build her confidence today, get her back in her comfort zone because she’s a really nice mare. She deserves a race like this, and I’m very proud of her.”

On watching the race, Sharp noted what a good, patient ride Lanerie gave Summer in Saratoga.

“He (Lanerie) looked like a winner the whole way. When I saw Adam’s (Beschizza) horse make the mid-race move on the 13 (Alnaseem), I could just see Corey sitting and waiting. He’s got a lot of confidence in that mare. She’s a lot of fun.”

Several members of the Indiana General Assembly were on hand to present the trophy to Sharp for the Listed stakes win. The race honors all Indiana representatives and senators, past and present, who have championed the continued support of pari-mutuel horse racing in the state of Indiana.

Photos by Coady Photography