Anderson, IN — Indiana’s top three-year-old pacing colts and fillies were in the spotlight at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Friday (June 21) to square off in the second round of Indiana Sires Stakes action and did so in impressive fashion. The evening’s 14-race card featured three $34,500 divisions for the three-year-old pacing colts and two $49,500 divisions for the three-year-old pacing fillies.

Feherty won an ISS division on Friday night in 1:50.1. Linscott Photo

Feherty and Peter Wrenn kicked off the action-packed evening and delivered as the heavy post time favorite, scoring in 1:50.1 for trainer Melanie Wrenn. Benefitting from a pocket trip, Feherty tipped out from behind the pace-setting Jagger Rocks and Sam Widger late in the lane and paced strong to the wire to record his third consecutive victory.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better trip,” Wrenn noted in the winner’s circle. “It’s a long season and we’ve taken our time with him. He’s still very green but he’s figuring things out with every start. He raced great tonight, I was very happy with him.”

Unraced at two, the gelded son of Tellitlikeitis-Cambeth has now won four of five-lifetime starts and remains undefeated in stakes action this season. Feherty has amassed $42,850 in lifetime purse earnings and is owned in partnership by Dana Parham and Eleven Star Stables.

The three-year-old pacing fillies were up next and it was Mike Oosting and Fully A Virgin who got up in the final strides of the mile to stop the timer in 1:51.3. Slightly dismissed at odds of 7-1, Oosting opted for a trip off the pace. Turning for home, Fully A Virgin tipped off cover and utilized a :26.3 closing kick to get the win by a head in a four-horse photo.

Trained by Virgil Morgan Jr., Fully A Virgin recorded her second win of the season from seven trips behind the gate and established a new lifetime best in the process. With the win, the daughter of Always A Virgin-Full of Gold pushed her lifetime bankroll over the $100,000 mark for owner, breeder Emerald Highlands Farm.

In the very next race, Little Rocket Man, with Trace Tetrick in the bike, continued his winning ways to score in 1:50.1 by nearly two lengths for trainer Missy Essig. Little Rocket made a powerful move down the backside and then dug in gamely nearing the wire to record his second consecutive win and establish a new lifetime mark.

“Roger Cullipher trained him this winter and deserves a lot of credit for this colt,” Essig noted after the win. “When we started the season we weren’t sure if he was going to be a stakes colt but we knew he was a nice horse. He loves his job and takes really good care of himself. He has a great attitude and that will take him a long way.”

With the win, the gelded son of Rockin Image-Gt Miss Royal improved his lifetime stats to 9-7-0-1. Unraced as a two-year-old, Little Rocket Man has now earned $50,130 for his owners Russell Beeman and Jack Freeman.

Following suit, Play For Pay and Brandon Bates used similar front-running tactics to score in the second and final division of the stakes action for three-year-old pacing fillies. Stopping the timer in 1:51.3, Bates sent the Michael Arnold trainee to the front and she was able to hold off the heavy favorite, Rockin Nola and Joey Putnam, to get the win by three-parts of a length. The 1:51.3 was a new lifetime best for the sophomore filly. Trained by Michael Arnold, Play For Pay recorded her second win of the season from eight starts and remains undefeated in stakes action this season.

The daughter of Tellitlikeitis-Fox Valley Ivy has now won four of 21-lifetime outings. Owned by Ira Steinberg, Play For Pay has accumulated $90,815 in lifetime purse earnings.

Egomania turned in another gritty performance to take home top honors in the final division of ISS action for three-year-old pacing colts. Linscott Photo.

Fresh off a decisive win last week, Egomania turned in another gritty performance to take home top honors in the final division for three-year-old pacing colts. With regular pilot John DeLong in the bike, Egomania went gate to wire and held off all challengers to score in 1:50.2. Trained by Brian Brown, Egomania recorded his third consecutive victory and fourth win from five starts this season.

“I knew I wanted to be up close,” DeLong noted after the victory. “He’s very versatile and always has been but he’s really grown up from two to three. He covers a lot of ground and this year he’s really got the will and wants to win.”

Sired by Always A Virgin, Egomania is owned in partnership by Country Club Acres, J. Sbrocco, R. Lombardo, and J. Fodera. With the win, Egomania pushed his lifetime bankroll to $262,725.

Live racing at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will continue on Saturday, June 22 with a twelve race card featuring a $20,000 Open Trot and $20,000 Open Pace for fillies and mares. In conjunction with the live racing action, Harrah’s Hoosier Park will play host to the $35,000 Caesars Rewards Handicapping Challenge. For more information on the Caesars Rewards Handicapping Challenge, upcoming entertainment, or live racing schedule, please visit www.harrahshoosierpark.com.