The Black Album wins Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (July 8, 2020) — The Black Album made his first start in more than eight months a winning effort, scoring the win in the $75,000 Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial, a Listed Stakes at Indiana Grand during Indiana Derby Day Wed. July 8. Ridden by Luis Saez, The Black Album capitalized on a perfect trip to win the event in in a time of 1:41.68.

Starting from post two, The Black Album broke sharply and was headed to the lead before the inside horse, Argentello and James Graham moved up and took control of the race by a few lengths. The Black Album, a French bred son of Wootton Bassett, remained in stalking position as the Irish-born Argentello led the way with his ears up and an easy pace.

As the field turned for home, The Black Album began to extend his stride and moved up to pass Argentello, taking over the lead. He was strong all the way to the wire for the win by one and one-half lengths. Hay Dakota and Julie Leparoux rallied up to finish second, just a nose ahead of Argentello. Grand Journey and Florent Geroux recovered from a bad stumble at the start to close in for fourth.

“It was a pretty nice trip,” said Saez. “The horse broke pretty well and was pretty sharp. I see James (Graham on pacesetting Argentello) inside make the move, so I just sat there and waited until the top of the stretch and he took off.”

Owned by Team Valor International and Gary Barber, The Black Album has five career wins in 14 career starts, most of which were recorded as a two-year-old. The win in the Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial was his third career stakes win, adding the race to his credentials that includes a win in the $100,000 Charlie Barley at Woodbine in Canada and Grade 3 $92,832 Prix la Rochette at Longchamp Racecourse outside of Paris, France. Rodolphe Brisset trains the four-year-old colt, who runs exclusively on the turf.

“The horse was training very, very well,” noted Brisset. “We thought the mile and a sixteenth may be a little long for him. But it’s a seventh-eighths turf course here and pretty speedy, so I think you can carry your speed a mile and a sixteenth.”

When asked about the delay in getting The Black Album back on track, Brisset continued, “Nothing bad. He had a long year as a 3-year-old, so we gave him time. He came back maybe even stronger than last year. He’s a very cool horse.”

Schuster’s daughters, Rachel and Abi, were in the winner’s circle to present the trophy to the winning connections of The Black Album. They noted how much Indiana Grand and racing in general meant to their father and were glad to take part in the race named in his honor.

“We want to thank the entire team at Indiana Grand for this honor,” said Abi. “This was an absolutely beautiful way to remember him. It really means a lot to our family.”

In addition to the stakes race named after Schuster, former vice president and general manager of racing who passed away last winter, a dedication plaque was unveiled outside the new paddock area, the last project Schuster worked on before his passing. Also, a $2,500 scholarship has been created by Indiana Grand at his alma mater, University of Arizona Racetrack Industry Program, that will be allotted to a student each year.

Racing Photos by Coady Photography

Plaque photo by Chandler McGuire