Hightstown, NJ – After watching Pastor’s Delicacy compete in a first-round division of the Indiana Sire Stakes for 2-year-old female trotters on Tuesday, Leroy Eicher will race for the biggest purse of his young training career Wednesday when he sends out the morning-line favorite in a division of the INSS for freshman female pacers at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.
Eicher-trained Milliondollarimage is the 2-1 morning-line choice in a $68,000 division of the first leg of the INSS for 2-year-old pacing fillies on Wednesday at Hoosier. She will start a little more than 24 hours after Eicher watched Pastor’s Delicacy finish second in a $45,500 first-round split of the INSS for rookie female trotters.
“It’s exciting,” said Eicher, a 20-year-old from Grabill, Ind., who is in his second full season as a trainer. “I’ve been lucky. It’s been a good start with the 2-year-olds.”
Milliondollarimage, a daughter of Rockin Image-Always Be Mine, was a $5,000 purchase at the Hoosier Classic Yearling Sale. She is owned by the Eicher family’s Railroad Express Stable and Francis Doctor. She is 2-for-2 this season, with her most recent victory coming July 2 in 1:55 (last quarter in :26) in a $15,000 race for INSS eligibles at Hoosier.
“I’ve been really happy with her,” Eicher said. “We got her cheaper than I thought we would. When she walked in the ring, she had good conformation, so I figured that I would go ($5,000) on her, and I got her.
“From the beginning, she was OK; she didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t see a ton of speed early, but as time went on, I started seeing more. Hopefully, we continue to go that way.”
In the second of her two qualifiers, Milliondollarimage paced her last quarter in :25.4. In her career debut, she won in 1:56.2 with a :26.4 kick home. She rallied from fifth in her second victory, after being more than seven-lengths back at the half.
“She is all about going forward,” Eicher said. “She can be behind anybody, and she’s going to try to go past them. In the training miles, she didn’t seem real aggressive, but I noticed that when I thought I had my others flying good at the end of a mile, she would always come with them. So, I knew she always had plenty.”
Milliondollarimage will start Wednesday from post two in a field of nine. Kyle Wilfong will be in the sulky.
Eicher, who is assisted by his brothers Andrew and Eldon, as well as Doctor, is training 10 horses. Joining Milliondollarimage among that group is Pastor’s Delicacy, who won her debut on June 24 with a 1:59.1 mile in a conditioned race at Hoosier.
The daughter of Pastor Stephen-Cell Service was also a $5,000 purchase at the Hoosier sale and is owned by Railroad Express and Doctor.
Pastor’s Delicacy on Tuesday rallied late with a :27.2 last quarter but missed by a quarter length in her INSS division, timed in 1:58.4.
“She is pretty much the same (as Milliondollarimage),” Eicher said before the race. “Every time I’ve asked her, she’s always had more.”
Racing begins at 6:20 p.m. (EDT) at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. For free past performances, visit the track’s website here.