Sir Bahjy stellar in Hoosier Breeders Sophomore Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Sir Bahjy has performed well in past premier racing events at Horseshoe Indianapolis, but he finally got his turn in the spotlight Wednesday winning the 17^th running of the $100,000 Hoosier Breeders Sophomore Handicap.

The sophomore gelding earned the victory in the six-furlong sprint in a time of 1:10.43.

Starting from post two, Sir Bahjy and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. (photo) broke from the gate but were swallowed up by early speed from Special Creed and Evin Roman, who established themselves as the pacesetters down the backstretch. Sleepy and Luis Contreras joined them heading to the quarter along the inside before taking back and letting Special Creed stride out on to the lead.

Around the final turn, horses began to swing wide to get into position for the stretch drive, including Sir Bahjy, who was widest of all and came out of the turn in the center of the track. Special Creed had developed an open length lead on his opponents but as the wire neared, so did the late closers.

Sir Bahjy had the biggest kick and timed the wire just right to win by one length over Sleepy, who reemerged inside to finish second. Special Creed was third, just a neck back in the photo.

“He (Sir Bahjy) is really better going long,” noted Pedroza Jr. a three-time leading jockey at Horseshoe Indianapolis. “Last time I rode him short I have to use him a little bit more than I wanted to. Really today, he was just there for me closer to the horses. He broke well and had us closer to the pace. I didn’t have to use him early. Turning for home I had some horse, so I thought I’m going to kick him out. When I did, I knew we were going to run them down and we did. We are going to have fun with him.”

Sir Bahjy was overlooked as the longest shot of the six-horse field, paying $45.20 for the win. His connections are all previous year-ending leaders in the owner, trainer, and jockey category. Genaro Garcia trains the homebred by Bahjatty for owners Bruce and Lori Murphy along with Garcia’s Southwest Racing Stables. It was the second win in two races for 2025, keeping him undefeated in 2025.

“We thought it might be a little too short (six furlongs) for him today, but he came charging at the end,” noted Murphy. “It’s such an honor to be associated with these folks. Genaro (Garcia) does such a great job training and Marcelino (Pedroza Jr.) is a great jockey. And Genaro’s barn crew works so hard and does such a great job with these horses. I’m very fortunate to be with these folks.”

Garcia, a native of Mexico, has been training since 2006 and is closing in on 1,000 career wins. The multiple stakes winning trainer has been among the nation’s top 100 trainers every year since 2017 with his highest ranking of 24 recorded in 2022. He has conditioned several Indiana champions over the years, including Molly’s Town, Discreet Beauty, and Climber.

Hoosier Breeders Sophomore Fillies

Hot Middles and Hannah Leahey kept their perfect record for 2025 intact Wednesday in the 17^th running of the $100,000 Hoosier Breeders Sophomore Filly Division.

It was the first premiere racing win for Leahey and the first of the Hoosier Breeders Sophomore series for trainer Tianna Richardville.

Hot Middles (photo, on rail) came into the race two-for-two this season and was tagged as the favorite when the field of eight left the starting gate for the six-furlong sprint. Hot Middles left with some gate speed, but it was Wicked Vette who grabbed the top spot early on for jockey Fernando De La Cruz.

Hot Middles was sitting just off Wicket Vette down the backstretch and was joined by Temple Paynter and Alberto Burgos on the outside and Elegant Justice and Sammy Bermudez on the inside. The top four moved into the only turn of the race together as Wicked Vette was not backing down. Coming out of the turn, Wicked Vette was leading the way and Hot Middles was still battling for position.

In the stretch, Hot Middles wasn’t gaining any ground on the outside so dipped to the inside and Leahey began encouraging the three-year-old filly. She found her best stride in mid-stretch and got by Wicked Vette in the late stretch and fended off a late attack by G Force Jimmi and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. on the far outside to score the victory by a head.

G Force Jimmi finished second, a half length ahead of Wicked Vette in the three-horse win photo.

“She broke sharp and normally she is more relaxed, but she wasn’t today,” noted Leahey. “Coming out of the turn, we were getting tossed around a little because everyone was making their move. It’s not unusual for the rail to open up and everyone started to swing wide, so we took advantage and stayed on the rail.”

Hot Middles paid $2.40 as the race favorite. She is owned, bred, and trained by Richardville, who has developed her own training and breeding operation from the ground up in Shelbyville. Racing under the stable name of Thirstyacres Racing LLC, the longtime trainer in Indiana hailed from the northeastern side of the state before relocating to Shelbyville a decade ago. The dam of Hot Middles was a special purchase by Richardville at the Keeneland sales when she was in foal with the filly.

“I am generally not a big spender at the sales, especially for a mare in foal, but I bought this mare for $12,500, which was a lot for me,” said Richardville on the purchase of Pretty Miss Trippi. “She had a foal or two but nothing that really stood out. I brought her home and foaled her in Indiana so this filly would be Indiana bred. Now, the remainder of her foals with me are Indiana sired.”

Hot Middles captured the attention of Leahey early on in her career. At first, Leahey noted she was “hot and feisty” and Leahey opted not to get on her in the mornings due to her energetic nature. Another jockey was set to ride her in her debut but relocated to another track. That’s when Leahey reconnected with Hot Middles and the two have been inseparable since.

“I get on her every morning,” noted Leahey. “She is very quirky, and I like to say ‘we are living in Hot Middles world.’ I take my time with her and let her do her own thing. She is aggressive in her works, and after I galloped her a few times this year as a three-year-old, I could see a big difference in her. She has so much talent and ability. I told Tianna she had a stakes horse.”

Hot Middles and Leahey have now turned in eight career starts, winning four of those, including a perfect three-for-three this season. They have never finished off the board and the filly has now won more than $168,000.

“We’ve always known she has speed,” added Richardville. “She was a tie-up (cramping) horse, and it took us a little bit to figure her out. She is definitely quirky both in the barn and on the track and she needs someone that can work with her. Her groom loves her, and Hannah loves her. Hannah has a real connection with her and spends a lot of time with her in her stall, too. She has a lot of heart and has always been special to us.”

The 23^rd season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing runs through Nov. 13.

For more information on racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis/racing or find details on social media @HSIndyRacing.

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