Brittanysgldnfaith solid in Hoosier Heartland Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Brittanysgoldnfaith never left the inside rail and romped to victory in the 24th running of the $100,000 Hoosier Heartland Handicap Wednesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis. The four-year-old filly was well under wraps by jockey Orlando Mojica, who gave her a perfect inside trip for the win, the biggest of her career.

Brittanysgldnfaith (photo) began from post two and moved out with just enough speed to land in fourth position as Tiz Bayou and Luis Fuentes blazed out of the gate from the outside and took control of the race before the first turn arrived in the one and one-sixteenth mile event.

From there, Fuentes rated the tempo as Forever Pink and Manny Esquivel tracked her on the inside with Unbridled Talent and Fernando De La Cruz. Mojica had a big hold of Brittanysgldnfaith, who wanted to use her speed down the backstretch, but Mojica kept her contained until room began to open up heading into the final turn.

Tiz Bayou was still on top in the final turn and Forever Pink began to move out to challenge, giving Brittanysgldnfaith the opportunity to advance along the rail. Coming out of the turn, Tiz Bayou began to tire and shift out, giving Brittanysgldnfaith the room she needed to skim through and take the top spot.

Once clear, Mojica called on Brittanysgldnfaith and she responded, opening up to an eight-length advantage and making it nearly impossible for any of her opponents to catch up. She was well under wraps at the wire by Mojica, scoring the win by seven lengths. Itzforever and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. closed for second over No More Fake News and Alberto Burgos, who also closed gamely for third.

Brittanysgldnfaith paid $9.20 for the win. The Greeley’s Conquest filly is a home bred by millard R. Seldin Revocable Trust. Scott Seldin oversees the ownership of Millard Seldin Revocable Trust. Robert Dobbs Jr. trains the filly, who just missed the win in her last outing by a nose and picked up her first trip to the winner’s circle in the Hoosier Heartland for 2024. Overall, she has four career wins with earnings just under the $200,000 mark.

“She’s a nice filly,” noted Mojica. “I had a good trip. I never rode her before, but we were able to stay inside on the rail the whole way. I want to thank Rob (Dobbs) for this opportunity. And, first and foremost, I thank God.”

Mojica, a three-time leading jockey at Horseshoe Indianapolis, has spent nearly his entire career on the Indiana circuit. He earned leading jockey titles from Hoosier Park, Canterbury Park, and Ellis Park before settling in at Horseshoe Indianapolis full time. A native of Puerto Rico, Mojica has celebrated many of his milestones in Indiana, including his 2,500^th win in 2021. He now has more than 2,800 career wins as a multiple Graded Stakes winning jockey.

Empire Handicap

Highest Memories elevated his game Wednesday in the 24^th running of the Empire Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Guided for the first time by Luis Fuentes, the Indiana gelding rallied home for the win by open lengths in a time of 1:45.49 for the one and one-sixteenth mile race.

Highest Memories and Fuentes began from post seven and used some early speed, seeking a good position near the front of the pack. CJ’s Storm and Evin Roman moved just a little quicker to eventually scoot over to the inside and take control of the field in the first turn. Highest Memories stablemate Bluegrass Prayer and Manny Esquivel also left with authority to sit to the outside of CJ’s Storm during the early stages of the race. Highest Memories settled in along the outside behind Bluegrass Prayer.

Heading into the far turn, Fuentes moved Highest Memories three wide and began to move in on the top horses. When the field came out of the turn, track announcer John G. Dooley noted he was making three-path progress.

Highest Memories (photo) had inherited a short lead from CJ’s Storm at the top of the stretch. CJ’s Storm was not backing down. The two horses began to battle in the early part of the stretch. As the wire neared, Highest Memories was able to pull away from his opponents for the win by more than two lengths. Mr Chaos and Orlando Mojica moved up for second, grabbing the place spot from Hobnobin General and Rodney Prescott, who closed quickly for third.

“He (Highest Memories) is a classy horse and Tim (Eggleston) told me he had speed,” said Fuentes. “We warmed up without the pony and that helped. We laid right off the pace and at the three-eighths, I asked him. I waited as long as I could before we started advancing. I want to thank Tim (Eggleston) and the owner (Randy Burkett) for this opportunity.”

Highest Memories was overlooked at the betting windows, paying $21.20 for the win. The four-year-old son of Santiva is owned by breeder Randy Burkett and trained by Tim Eggleston. It was his largest win to date and his second in a row, making him five for 14 during his career. The Indiana sired gelding now has more than $170,000 on his card.

“He’s been a good horse for us all summer,” noted Eggleston. “He’s a fun horse to work with. We plan to keep him here and race him.”

The Shelby County Post is a digital newspaper producing news, sports, obituaries and more without a pay wall or subscription needed.