SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Sept. 4, 2019) – The flashy grey filly Winter Sunset stood out in the post parade, and she stood out even more in the final strides in the 11th running of the $200,000-guaranteed Indiana Grand Stakes Wednesday, Sept. 4. Ridden by Channing Hill, the daughter of Tapit, still co-owned by her breeders Phillips Racing Partnership of Kentucky, scored the win in 1:37.92 over the one-mile turf event.
Princess Trina and Fernando De La Cruz broke alertly on the inside to grab the top spot while being joined by Story Time and Jermaine Bridgmohan on the outside. She’sonthewarpath and Chantal Sutherland stayed close along the rail in third as Be Nimble and Corey Lanerie settled in fourth on the outside.
The field bunched up quickly around the final turn with several horses looking for room. She’sonthewarpath finally got through along the inside and Winter Sunset, who was poised to pounce from the center of the track got the room she needed to extend her stride. Once she saw daylight, she was out and away from her opponents, winning by two and one-half lengths. Amandrea and Tyler Gaffalione closed well to win a tight photo for second over Winning Envelope and Jose Valdivia Jr., who settled for third.
“We got the trip we hoped for today,” said Hill, who has ridden her in all seven of her career starts. “We hoped to take back and then let her punch. She did all the running. I just can’t say enough about this filly. She’s so good.”
Winter Sunset, now owned by Annette Bacola and Bob Cummings’ Coffeepot Stables with Phillips Racing Partnership, picked up her second stakes win and increased her career bankroll to more than $248,000. She paid $8.40, $5.00 and $3.60 across the board. She is trained by Wayne Catalano.
“We have had her (Winter Sunset) since she was a two-year-old,” said Catalano. “We started her off at Churchill but it got rainy on us there, so we took her to New Orleans and got her first start there. We knew we had a nice filly and she came through for us today.”
Winter Sunset is almost white in her young racing career. She had signs of her body under her grey coat showing through her thin skin as she walked into the winner’s circle.
“She gets a little pink, especially when she gets hot,” added Catalano. “But she’s been great. She’s just a nice filly to take care of. We aren’t sure where we will go next. We will let this one sink in first before making that decision.”
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