'Old pro' Seminole Chief wins Schuster Memorial at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Seminole Chief was dispatched at 14-1 in Saturday’s $102,500 Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial at Horseshoe Indianapolis. But trainer Joe Sharp thought that the 5-year-old gelding might be poised to reconnect with his past success.

That’s what happened as Seminole Chief, after pushing the pace set by co-favorite Encino, edged away late to hold off the late run of Baby Max to prevail by three-quarters of a length while powering 1 1/16 miles over firm turf in 1:40.16.

In the mad dash to the wire, 2-1 favorite Wadsworth was a neck back in third as he finished a neck in front of his Brad Cox-trained stablemate Encino, who set the course record of 1:39.38 in winning last year’s Schuster.

“I never rode him before, but he’s an old pro horse,” jockey Junior Alvarado said after winning his third stakes on the afternoon. “They know what to do. He put himself in a good spot, and I was just a passenger. He was traveling beautifully throughout the race. When we turned for home, I asked him to go, and he went on. He had enough left in the tank to hold off that horse coming at the end. Like I say, just an old pro who got the job done.”

Sharp now is 2 for 2 with Seminole Chief, who is co-owned by his long-time client Brad Grady.

“Brad and I go way back,” Sharp said by phone from Saratoga. “The horse had kind of tailed off, and I think they just wanted to see if he’d do something different under a different rooftop. Jack (Sisterson) did phenomenal with this horse. He came to us in great condition. He got good again.”

Encino was head-and-head with Seminole Chief through much of the stretch.

“I thought when he turned for home, and I saw Encino coming and I saw his ears go back, I felt pretty confident because the back class kicked in,” Sharp said.

It was to get Seminole Chief’s confidence back that Sharp ran him in a $75,000 claiming race June 17 at Churchill Downs. After all, the gray gelding had been well-beaten in a Keeneland allowance race two months early, preceded by another drubbing in an allowance race at Gulfstream Park. He just wasn’t the same horse that had looked so good early in 2025, including a victory in Gulfstream Park’s Appleton Stakes.

A subsequent step up to Santa Anita’s Grade 1 Shoemaker and Churchill Downs’ Grade 2 Wise Dan resulted in double-digit-length defeats and sent Seminole Chief off to a six-month break. His return showed some improvement, until it didn’t.

“We have every right in that situation to make it easier on him, right?” Sharp said of dropping Seminole Chief in for the $75,000 claiming price, which results in his first victory in eight races. “Off form, we figured we’d take a shot, put him in a spot where we could give him some confidence. Those older horses, confidence is everything. It gave him the confidence for a huge stepping stone for today.”

Seminole Chief is a Florida-bred son of the Sharp-trained, Grady-owned 2017 Louisiana Derby (G2) and Haskell (G1) winner Girvin. He paid $30.80 to win as the seventh choice in the field of 10 older horses. He now is 7-1-2 in 17 starts, earning $551,803 with the $58,425 payday for Grady and David Grund. 

Rounding out the field were Vote No, Clever Mischief, Higgins Boat, Noises Off, Judge Davis and Balnikhov.

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