Mr. Wireless Takes Indiana Derby, Soothsay Wins Oaks

A bobble at the start didn't stop Mr. Wireless from finding his best stride when it counted, and the Dialed In gelding soared clear July 7 in the $300,000 Indiana Derby (G3) at Indiana Grand Race Course. Even worse luck at the break came for Soothsay in the $200,000 Indiana Oaks (G3), but the daughter of Distorted Humor would not be denied. Those two stood out in the top races on an Indiana Derby card that drew a record handle of $6,292,387 Wednesday, according to track publicity reports. Entered off a runner-up finish in the May 31 Texas Derby, Mr. Wireless secured his first graded score for Jon Lapczenski and JIL Stable. The Bret Calhoun trainee pressed along second in the 1 1/16-mile test as longshot W W Crazy showed the way through an opening quarter in :24.16 and a half in :48.31, then took over through three-quarters in 1:12.41 and widened his advantage through a 1:36.61 mile. A 3 3/4-length winner under Ramon Vazquez, Mr. Wireless finished in 1:42.84. Sermononthemount was second, and favored Fulsome checked in 1 3/4 lengths back in third, a head in front of Starrininmydreams. Convention and W W Crazy completed the order of finish. Full Charge was scratched. "Great spot. Good money, good spot to come to," said Calhoun, who won his second Indiana Derby after taking the 2019 edition with Mr. Money. "We've just been fortunate over here. Obviously we've brought the right horses, and it's worked out for us." Calhoun said he felt patience would pay off with Mr. Wireless, who now has three wins and a second from five starts, with earnings of $358,650. "He hasn't done much wrong in his career," he said. "He's got a really good two-turn record. We don't think he has any distance limitations. He's gotten better and better. He's a horse who was really hard to get to the races, just to get him fit and ready. I know his family pretty good. I've trained his family. His sister Ain't No Elmers was the first one. Mentally and physically they were slow developers. He was the same. You have horses like that, a lot of times they just keep getting better and better." Ain't No Elmers was runner-up in the 2020 Miss Preakness Stakes (G3) at Pimlico Race Course and third in the Memorial Day Sprint this year at Lone Star Park. Both were bred in Kentucky by John Kerber & Iveta Kerber out of the Arch mare Voussoir, whose three starters have all been winners. Voussoir has an unraced 2-year-old full sister to Mr. Money named Ain't Broke, and dropped a Goldencents colt May 3. Sent off at odds of 7-2 in a field of six, Mr. Wireless returned $9.80 on a $2 win ticket. "I am really confident in my horse," Vazquez said. "I know my horse is getting better and better. So I just put my horse in good position. When I asked him the last quarter, he gave me everything he has. He's going to be a good horse." Florent Geroux, aboard Juddmonte's grade 3 winner Fulsome, said he had no horse turning for home. "I just feel the track was a little funny, like deep and tiring," he told trainer Brad Cox and Juddmonte general manager Garrett O'Rourke. "I was very worried about the pace scenario, especially the winner had a big advantage on us. You don't want to be too far (back). So I kind of rode him like I did last time. I thought I was in a great spot. Down the backside I started picking up horses. Turning for home, I'm right behind the winner. I'm right on target, and I've got nothing. I thought I was going to go by them easy, and I went backward. I barely finished third. I wish I could tell you more... Last time he finished really fast. Today he was just grinding." "I'm disappointed in the result," Cox added. "I thought we were in a good position and just kind of ran flat down the lane. Lucky to be third, really, just by a short margin. We'll see what happens. Maybe it wasn't his favorite track or favorite set-up. There wasn't a lot whole lot of pace early. Kind of tough when you have a horse who comes from out of it. We kind of thought that might be the case, not a lot of pace to run at. He ran on, just wasn't the result we were looking for, at a short price." Soothsay Casts Indiana Oaks Spell There were some nerve-wracking moments for Flavien Prat on Soothsay in the early stages of the Indiana Oaks. "She was really tense in the gate; I couldn't get her to relax," the jockey said. "She broke in the air. … To be honest, usually when you break like that, it's pretty much game over. At least for the win." Ninth and last of all as Lovely Ride took the field through an opening quarter in :24.71 and a half in :48.88, Soothsay began to pick up rivals as three-quarters went in 1:12.44. "I was just trying to regroup, to give her a chance at least in the first turn to save ground," Prat said. "Because the way she broke, I wasn't able to go around. I tried to cut the corner again at the quarter pole, and she really dug in. Really good effort." Longshot Moon Swag had taken the lead turning for home, but Soothsay closed through a 1:37.72 mile and got her neck down for the win. It was a head back to Lady Aces in third. The final time was 1:44.36. Soothsay returned $8 on a $2 win ticket. "I thought it was going to be a really long drive home," said Dell Hancock, who co-owns and co-bred the filly under the name Raydelz Stable. "But her mother ran like that. Spellbound won the (2014) La Canada (Stakes, G2) running like that, so I thought, 'Well, maybe she'll be like her mother.' But I didn't think it would really happen. When they got to the three-eighths pole and she was really moving, I thought, 'If she can be third, she can at least pay for the shipping.' And then we started riding really hard from the quarter pole home." Soothsay joined her Indiana Oaks score with the Santa Anita Oaks (G2) win she secured in April for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella. She was entered off a runner-up finish in the May 30 Summertime Oaks (G2), her only loss. Her record stands at three wins and that second from four starts, with earnings of $431,800. "I'm so proud of her. So proud," Hancock said. "The mare had some bad luck and this is the first (foal) that's really had a chance." Spellbound has an unnamed 2-year-old Runhappy colt that has not started, and a yearling filly by More Than Ready. She dropped a Street Sense colt March 11.