Hightstown, NJ – It was love at first sight, and it’s only grown stronger over the years.
In 2020, trainer Kim Roth went to the Michiana Classic Yearling Sale determined to come away with one particular horse – a pacer named Cache Flights Rock. Roth got the filly, who sold near the end of the auction, for $8,000 and soon rechristened her Wild Rosa in part because of her feisty attitude.
Since then, Wild Rosa has matured into a well-mannered mare, but still with a fighting spirit. The 6-year-old daughter of Aracache Hanover-This Flight Rocks is enjoying the best season of her career in 2025, having hit the board in 18 of 28 races, winning eight and earning $113,500, while competing at the top levels for fillies and mares at Harrah’s Hoosier Park and Hollywood Dayton Raceway.
For her career, Wild Rosa has won 25 of 103 races and banked $308,454 for Roth. In her three seasons since turning 4, she has earned a paycheck in 70 of 83 starts while racing primarily at Hoosier Park.
“She’s been amazing,” Roth said. “I have nothing but praise for her. I had no idea she would turn into this; I just thought she would be a good racehorse from the way she moved and her attitude. She turned out to be a freight train.”
Roth zeroed in on Wild Rosa prior to the 2020 Michiana sale after watching the filly’s video.
“There was just something about her,” Roth said. “They didn’t do a normal video of her going on the sidelines of the fence, they just videoed her out in a field. She was gorgeous. It didn’t even look like she was touching the ground, she just floated. She carried her head real high, real alert. I thought she was magnificent. I went to the sale for her. I had to have her.”
Wild Rosa began her career at Hawthorne Race Course in Illinois, where after winning once in her first six races, she closed out her 2-year-old campaign with four consecutive victories.
“After a couple starts, something just clicked with her,” Roth said. “She just got better every week. More confident, more aggressive. And she’s gotten better every year since then.”
Roth moved her base from Illinois to Indiana in the fall of 2024, which she thinks contributed to Wild Rosa’s continuing success this year. In addition to setting career highs for wins and earnings, the mare paced her first two sub-1:50 winning miles, including a 1:49.2 score in June at Hoosier Park.
“I think the move helped her a lot because we didn’t have to ship her so far,” Roth said. “It was a three-hour ship from Chicago, and to do that every week is hard. She loves it here. She’s a strong closer and she loves the long stretch at Hoosier. The further they go, the stronger she gets. When other horses are backing off, she’s just hitting another gear. That’s her strong suit. You can never count her out. And she’s got enough speed that she can leave, too. She’s very versatile. You really couldn’t ask for a nicer horse.”
Even if she started out a little feisty, Wild Rosa is a sweetheart now.
“She’s like a princess,” Roth said. “She just does everything right, from shoeing to loading to everything. She’s the perfect horse. And I love her personality. She is so smart and so alert; she watches everything. She really is special. Not all horses are like her.
“She doesn’t know she’s a horse. She thinks she’s part of the family.”
Since Hoosier Park’s meet ended in late November, Roth and Wild Rosa have turned their attention to Dayton. Last week, Wild Rosa finished fourth in the $28,000 Fillies & Mares Open following a sustained first-over journey. She returns to that level on Thursday (Dec. 11), when she will leave from post one with driver Tyler Smith. She is 9-1 on the morning line after going off as the 6-5 favorite last time out.
“Hopefully, we’ll have a little better luck,” said Roth, who has a stable of 13 horses. “You couldn’t ask for a more consistent horse. She tries to get there every week. She shows up. We’ve been very lucky. She is an amazing mare. Hopefully, she will have some amazing babies for us, eventually.”