Spirt and Heart showed just that, rallying home to her third straight win at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. The freshman filly was guided by Indiana newcomer Kiwon Waldron.
Starting from post five, Waldron had Spirt and Heart ready to go when the gate folded. They moved out to get a good seat up front early on and accomplished her goals before the quarter in :26.4. Seeitsayit and Joey Putnam circled around and took over the top spot at the half in :55.1 and continued to lead the way at the three-quarters in 1:24.0.
In the stretch, Spirt and Heart popped out and was ready to go again, sailing home in :27.1 to score the win in 1:51.3. Seeitsayit finished three-quarters of a length back in second followed by Airborne Spark and Clint Coy for third.
Spirt and Heart was the favorite of the field, paying $6.00. The Luck Be Withyou filly is owned and trained by Eli Schwartz of Michigan. Luckiana Farm bred the filly, who brought $4,000 through the Hoosier Classic Yearling Sale. The filly is out of the American Ideal mare So Long My Love, but more importantly, the second dam is the mother of Lets Drink On It, the Art Official stallion with a mark of 1:48.3 and more than $850,000 on his card. He now stands in Indiana and is seeing success with limited foals on the racing circuit.
It was the third win in a row for Spirt and Heart and Waldron, who is a native of Bermuda. Waldron began his driving career at Hippodrome Three Rivers in Quebec in 2019 and started off with a bang, winning 14 of 26 drives with a UDRS of .701. He missed two years of action and returned to drive at Three Rivers in 2022. After missing last year, Waldron is now applying his talents in Indiana. Waldron frequently returns to Bermuda where he competes in the Harness Pony Circuit and was the country’s leading driver before moving to the U.S. to pursue a career as a Standardbred driver.
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