Wrs Moonin Thewagon rolls by in Governor's Stakes

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Oct. 24, 2020) – WRs Moonin Thewagon and Sammy Mendez rallied late in the race to win the 24th running of the $132,560 Governor’s Stakes Saturday, Oct. 24 at Indiana Grand. The flashy grey gelding moved in late in the 350-yard dash to score the win in a time of :17.799 seconds.

Starting from post nine in the 10-horse final, WRs Moonin Thewagon was a factor from the start. The Moonin the Eagle gelding was holding his own on the outside as On A New Note and Isidro Banuelos were doing the same on the inside. On a New Note had a slight advantage in the final stages but WRs Moonin Thewagon began to lengthen his stride and rolled right on by for the win by a length over On a New Note. Kisses Forever and German Rodriguez finished third.

Owned and bred by Gwen and Randy Williams’ Williams Racing Stable, WRs Moonin Thewagon was the favorite of the field, paying $3.20, $2.60, $2.10 for the win. It was his third trip to the winner’s circle in five starts and marked the third straight win for Trainer Randy Smith. It also marked the first stakes winner for his sire, Moonin the Eagle.

Smith, who has stalls on the grounds at Indiana Grand, splits his stable and his time between the track and his farm just down the road. However, WRs Moonin Thewagon spends as much time as possible at the farm.

“He doesn’t ship good at all,” said Smith. “He was about to tear the stall down today when we brought him in, so I went in and put a full set of blinkers with cups on him in the stall. He stood there nice a quiet the rest of the day before it was time to race.”

The win by WRs Moonin Thewagon was one of three stakes victories on the card for Williams Racing Stable. They still have the gelding’s mother at home and are looking forward to next year.

“We have a full brother to Moon at home and he’s grey too,” said Randy Williams. “We really enjoy watching all our colts play at home. Our house sits in the middle and we have paddocks on three sides, so we watch them a lot. The funny thing about Moon is he was turned out with three others when he was little. They would get to running, and he always ran behind them. He doesn’t run behind them anymore.”

The Williams work with their babies and prepare them for the next phase of their career. Once the time comes, they hand them off to Smith.

“I enjoy working with them, but once Randy (Smith) comes down and picks them up, I don’t have to fool with them anymore,” added Randy Williams. “The thing about this is it takes a whole team effort to get here, and everyone has to do their job. It takes a lot of hard work, and we want to thank the entire team and Randy and Deb (Smith) for all their time and work with the horses.”

Photos by Coady Photography