Demolisher brings down the field in Governor’s Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Trainer Cipriano Contreras and jockey Manny Esquivel have been unstoppable this week at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Contreras has had back-to-back training doubles while Esquivel won seven races in two days.

Their momentum continued in the 20^th running of the $250,000 Governor’s Handicap Wednesday as they teamed up for a win with the lightly-raced Demolisher, who remains undefeated in three starts.

Unraced at two, Demolisher (photo) came onto the racing scene this year ready to go for Contreras and owner Ken Ayres, who bred and raised the son of Dominus out of his mare, Maggie Sue, who he also bred and raised. Demolisher made his racing debut in early June, and he is now a three-time winner for his connections.

Saddled with Post 12 at the start, Demolisher had a lot of horses to his inside to contend with early on. A lot of horses left the gate looking for a spot up close, which kept Demolisher five wide into the first turn. Esquivel had his hands full early on trying to get the gelding settled.

Eventually, the field began to spread out, giving Demolisher the chance to slide in behind the front flight led by Goodlookinjustice and Sammy Bermudez along the inside followed closely by Molly’s Town and Evin Roman. Heading to the halfway point of the one mile, 70 yard race, Molly’s Town snuck up the inside for a short lead before Goodlookinjustice came back to lead the way.

In the final turn, Goodlookinjustice was the one to catch. Demolisher came up along the outside and the two three-year-olds were together at the top of the stretch. Both horses fought gamely for the lead. Demolisher got a head in front, but Goodlookinjustice came right back to retake the lead.

In the last few strides, Demolisher had the most momentum and was able to move out and get the win, his first start in an elevated premier event. Goodlookinjustice was a clear cut second just a length back of Demolisher. Molly’s Town finished third.

Demolisher completed the race in a time of 1:41.75. He paid $20.20 for the win to remain undefeated in three starts this season. The decision to wait until his three-year-old year to start racing was a suggestion by Contreras to Ayres, who has been in the racing business for the past 50 years.

“He (Demolisher) was born in Indiana, and we brought him back to Kentucky,” explained Ayres, who now resides in Lexington, Ky., with his wife, Resia, operations manager for the Grayson-Jockey Club Equine Research Foundation. “He caught a rare disease called R-Equi pneumonia (virus that attacks foals). Demolisher was within 24 hours of us having to put him down. The vets stayed up with him all night to give him his meds. They saved him. They thought if they could get him to the next morning, and he could go off the oxygen, he would be able to survive.”

Demolisher came out of his life threatening scare just fine, and the Ayres sent him to friends in Kentucky to break him. They had success with their horse, Image Run, in the Contreras barn, so they sent Demolisher to Contreras to begin prepping him as a two-year-old.

“It was actually Cipriano’s (Contreras) decision to wait until he was three to race,” added Ayres, who is retired from the graphic design business. “Cipriano thought highly of him and thought he needed to mature and mature mentally too. It’s certainly paid off.”

The Ayres lived and worked in Indianapolis during their careers. Ken owned and operated The Design Group, which designed the original Indiana Pacers logo. He retired, and they moved to Lexington in 1999 and have enjoyed raising and racing Thoroughbreds ever since.

“This colt’s mother (Maggie Sue) won at Keeneland and that was on our bucket list,” said Ayres. “She is now in foal to Maximum Security and has a yearling half-sister to Demolisher by Cloud Computing, who is Indiana bred. We really enjoy racing in Indiana. Everyone is always so nice. We enjoy coming up here.”

Esquivel completed his day aboard Demolisher with his fourth win on the card. Coupled with a riding triple from the day before, he ends July on a high note in Indiana with 30 overall wins to be ranked sixth on the leading jockey standings. His uncle, Cipriano Contreras, has had four wins in two days to complete the month of July. He is currently ranked sixth in the leading trainer standings with 14 wins so far in 2024 at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

$200,000 Indiana First Lady

Trainer Mike Lauer has earned the status of the state’s all-time leading premier racing trainer in Indiana for a good reason. He and his wife, Penny, invested in the state’s breeding program more than three decades ago and have built up a broodmare band that is now on its third and fourth generation of foals.

With three entered in Wednesday’s $200,000 Indiana First Lady, the Lauers had one, Best Cupcake, which was tagged as a favorite in the field. However, it was another entrant that stole the spotlight as Three Coats and Edgar Morales scored the win in the 22^nd running of the event.

Starting from post three, Three Coats (photo) got away in the center of the pack of 12 three-year-old Indiana bred fillies and followed along as Lil Gin N Class and Sammy Bermudez seized the top spot from the inside, joined by Prettyontheprairie and Fernando De La Cruz from the far outside. Morales was sitting in sixth along the inside in the initial stages of the one mile, 70 yard dirt route.

Heading into the final turn, Three Coats had moved up into fourth along the inside and never left the rail, covered up by challengers on the outside getting into position for the stretch drive.

At the head of the lane horses began to spread out, which was just what Three Coats needed. Morales tipped Three Coats to the outside and hit a big momentum surge down the stretch, winning by open lengths in a time of 1:42.26. Lil Gin N Class finished two and one-half lengths back in second followed by Noneofyourbusiness and Manny Esquivel, who won the photo for show.

“Last time, she (Three Coats) handled the turf well,” said Morales, who was back aboard for his second straight time. “We were hoping to get a little more early speed in that race and she closed, but it was hard to make up that much ground. Today, there was plenty of speed. I tipped her out and she really closed.”

Three Coats had the longest odds of the three entrants from the Mike Lauer barn, paying $96.80 for the win. The Paynter filly is owned by Penny Lauer, the state’s all-time leading owner by purse earnings. She was bred on the Lauer’s farm in Finchville, Ky.

The dam of Three Coats, Triple A, was also bred and raised by the Lauers and was a stakes placed contender in Indiana during her racing career. Three Coats is a product of the dedication of the Lauers to the state’s breeding program as she is a third generation starter for them.

“This filly (Three Coats) has improved with every start,” said Lauer, who is the state’s all-time leading trainer in money earned and the top trainer in premier races won. “And she keeps improving. There are some other Indiana bred stakes coming up, so we’ll see if that works out.”

The 22^nd season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing extends through Nov. 14. Racing is held Monday through Thursday at 2:10 p.m. For more information on live racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis/racing or find the track on Social Media @HSIndyRacing.

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