SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Sept. 11, 2019) – For a horse that was unwanted as a yearling, he now has a new title – stakes winner. Two Last Words, owned by breeders Deann and Dr. Greg Baer of Columbus, Ind., scored the win in the 19th running of the $100,000 Hillsdale Stakes at Indiana Grand Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019.
Jose Riquelme had an inside post and wasted little time out of the gate with Two Last Words to get the gelding out into the early flow of the six furlong sprint. Rampage and Malcolm Franklin claimed the top spot early with Mai Tai’s Gem and Rodney Prescott pressing the pace from the outside. Two Last Words followed the top two in a comfortable position, just biding his time to unleash a late rally.
In the turn, it was evident that Two Last Words was going to have a say so over who won the race. He began to rally up to the leaders and took control of the race at the head of the stretch. Mai Tai’s Gem was not going away quietly and dug in for the stretch drive, but Two Last Words proved to be too tough, winning by one and one-quarter lengths over Mai Tai’s Gem. Wicked Slider and Fernando De La Cruz won a close battle for third in a photo finish over Strong Tide and Declan Cannon.
“We had a good break and we were able to keep close and when I called on him, he got the job done,” said Riquelme. “You are always worried about getting in traffic trouble, but he was clear the whole way. When he made his run, he gave me all he had.”
Impressive in his previous starts, a win from Two Last Words was not a surprise to the betting public as he paid $7.20, $3.20 and $2.40 across the board. It was the second win in five starts for the freshman son of Commissioner and the purse was just enough to place him over the $100,000 mark in earnings for the Baers.
“This horse (Two Last Words) is one that nobody wanted, so we were glad to keep him,” said Dr. Greg Baer, who was attending the race while his wife, Deann, was with their horses selling at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington, Ky. “He had a tiny chip in his right rear. We breed our horses to sell, but we decided we would just keep him.”
When one winds up with a horse to race, it’s time to seek out a trainer with success in the state of Indiana. The Baers called Trainer Tim Glyshaw, who has had two Indiana Horse of the Years in the past decade, Unreachable Star and Bucchero. Soon, Two Last Words was on his way to his barn.
“The Baers sent him to us and we had him at Indiana Grand to begin with and he broke his maiden,” said Glyshaw. “But I thought his next start in the Bashford ($125,000 G3 Bashford Manor at Churchill Downs) was really impressive. He ran against some nice horses in that race at long odds and closed for fourth. I’m not sure what happened at Ellis Park in his last start. He got away in the post parade, which he never does, so it was good to see him back here today and running so well.”
Two Last Words has impressed Glyshaw from the start. He was a welcome addition to the barn and Glyshaw is seeing a lot of talent early on from the freshman.
“This race today was the first time he ran against Indiana breds, so that had to help,” added Glyshaw. “He’s really nice to work with and be around and does everything right. He’s bred to run a mile or a mile and sixteenth, so this wasn’t really his race today. But winning this race bodes well for the stakes coming up in November going a mile, 70 ($100,000 Indiana Futurity). I believe we have two really nice Indiana breds in the barn this year (referring to Lady Ally who finished second in the City of Anderson Stakes). It’s really nice to have a good Indiana bred again.”
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