Hawkeye captures title in William Henry Harrison Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Hawkeye will forever be a name that sticks with jockey Jose Gutierrez. The Indiana sired gelding provided the young jockey, originally from Guatemala, with his first premier racing victory Wednesday in the 23^rd running of the $100,000 William Henry Harrison Handicap.

In the process, Hawkeye also recorded a first. It was his first premier racing win as well in the six-furlong sprint.

Hawkeye began his journey from post three for Gutierrez, and although he wasn’t the first one out of the gate, it didn’t take long for him to take over as he shot through horses and grabbed the early advantage from Mr Chaos and Irving Moncada along the inside. Hawkeye remained just on the outside of Mr Chaos before taking over heading into the only turn of the sprint.

When the field turned for home, Hawkeye was on top by three lengths and all alone on the lead, creating a very difficult scenario for any of his opponents to catch up to him. He began to lug in midway through the stretch, but Gutierrez was able to fix the issue quickly and get him back on the target to the finish line.

“At the quarter pole, he responded to the stick on the right, but he began to go to the rail, so I had to switch sticks,” noted Gutierrez. “Then, one tap on the left and he straightened up. He really finished strong.”

Hawkeye glided under the wire three and three-quarter lengths ahead of stablemate CJ’s Storm, the defending champion in the William Henry Harrison Handicap, ridden by Amir Mendoza. Oil Man and Micah Meeks rallied up to finish third as the second longest shot of the nine horse field.

“He (Hawkeye) has been breezing really well in the mornings,” said Gutierrez, last year’s leading apprentice jockey at Horseshoe Indianapolis. “I told John (Haran) I thought he was a really nice horse, so I’m not surprised he raced so well today. It was my first time riding him in a race, and John told me to get to the lead. I don’t think he likes dirt in his face. In his last race, he didn’t break well from the gate and get to the lead, and he didn’t run as well.”

Hawkeye was a mild upset winner, paying $15.00 for the win. The five-year-old son of Storm’s Eye was purchased out of the ITOBA Fall Mixed Sale as a yearling by owner-trainer John Haran for $5,500. It wasn’t his first purchase from the Indiana stallion Storm’s Eye. Haran has a keen eye for the bloodline.

“All three of my horses in here (William Henry Harrison Handicap) are by Storm’s Eye,” noted Haran. “CJ’s Storm was the first one I bought, and I bought Hawkeye the next year out of the same sale. And, I bred Commander Storm myself. I contacted the breeders (Triple D Partners) to see about purchasing more of them. I love that line and he was one of the only stallions left by Storm Cat. All of them have been really good racehorses for us. I love them. I have a few fillies too. “Storm’s Eye passed away, so there won’t be any more of them. If I had known that was going to happen, I would have left Hawkeye or CJ’s Storm as a stallion and not gelded them so we could continue that bloodline.”

Hawkeye earned his sixth career win in his 16^th career start in the race. He increased his career bankroll to more than $200,000 in the effort. He is still behind CJ’s Storm, who is owned in partnership by Haran and Janet and Charles Watt. The older stablemate has amassed more than $350,000 with multiple stakes victories, including last year’s William Henry Harrison.

It was the first win of 2026 for Hawkeye in only his second start of the season.

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