Mr Michel wins Carter Riley Overnight Stakes

It was only appropriate that Mr Michel, a star of the present, was the winner of the Carter Riley Overnight Stakes, named in honor of a star in the past.

Riley, a longtime jockey in the state of Indiana, was honored with the $35,000 race named in his honor this season. He was the first jockey to win a pari-mutuel Quarter Horse race in the state of Indiana in 1997 at Hoosier Park.

“I was very surprised to learn they named a race in honor of me,” said Riley, who now trains horses with his wife, Donna. “I’m just in awe. There are a lot of people that worked really hard to bring pari-mutuel Quarter Horse racing to this state. So it’s a privilege to get a race named after me.”

Riley recalled the night he became part of Indiana Quarter Horse racing history by guiding Easy’s Night Beat to victory in the fall of 1997. The $10,000 Governor’s Stake stretched the limits of the budget for the Quarter Horse Racing Association of Indiana, so they asked several members to sponsor blankets for the event.

“I actually sponsored the blanket for the race,” said Riley. “I have a photo of the winner’s circle and the blanket has my name on it. Mike Renihan (owner of Easy’s Night Beat) gave me the blanket and I still have it at home.”

The Carter Riley Overnight Stakes didn’t disappoint with a stellar field lined up for the action, including Mr Michel (photo), who is now two for two in 2024. He was reunited with regular jockey Edgar Diaz, who missed his seasonal debut coming off an injury.

The duo rallied home strong in the 350-yard dash to win by one length under wraps over Oscar Mike and Martin Munoz and RK Lady Dana and Saul Lopez.

Owned by Alberto Valadez and trained his entire career by Claudio Barraza, Mr Michel earned his 11th career win and pushed his earnings over the $400,000 mark. He is now within striking distance of reaching the elite list of top five all-time leading Quarter Horses bred in Indiana.

“He really impressed me how he came out of the gate today,” said Barraza of the standout son of Kiss My Hocks. “This was a nice field of horses. He’s everything you could ask for.”

 Mr Michel, named after his breeder, Mark Michel of Indiana, now has six stakes wins to his credit. The five-year-old gelding has turned in all 21 races at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

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