Temple Paynter reaches new heights in $200,000 Indiana First Lady at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Temple Paynter elevated herself to a new level Wednesday in the 23^rd running of the $200,000 Indiana First Lady, scoring her first premier win and her second overall for her connections.

Owned and bred by former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar, the sophomore filly scored a head bobbing win at the wire to earn the title in a time of 1:43.56.

Starting from post four in the full field of 12, jockey Evin Roman was able to place Temple Paynter (main photo, left) in good early positioning out of the gate, sitting just on the outside of pace setter Seeyouinabit and Santo Sanjur.

Horses were four wide around the turn and into the backstretch of the one mile, 70-yard route with Don’t Miss Out and Jose Gutierrez sitting just off Temple Paynter and Royal Justice with Fernando De La Cruz the widest of all.

The entire race, G Force Jimmi and Sammy Bermudez were sitting behind Seeyouinabit and saving ground.

Heading into the final turn, the early leaders were being bombarded by the late closers with Hot Middles and Hannah Leahy the widest of all. Coming into the stretch, Temple Paynter took over from Seeyouinabit and had a length advantage on the horses to her outside, but it was G Force Jimmi that proved to be the biggest competition.

Bermudez was able to sneak up the inside with G Force Jimmi and actually got a head in front for a couple strides before Temple Paynter came charging back. The two fillies hit the wire together with Temple Paynter timing the head bob just right to score the win over G Force Jimmi.

Spooky Ridge and Joe Ramos, part of the late closing surge on the outside, moved into third.

Temple Paynter was a mild longshot, paying $15.80 for the win. The daughter of Paynter out of Edgar’s longtime broodmare Lady Temple earned her second career win in eight career starts, boosting her career earnings to more than $173,000. The lightly raced filly at two is trained by Robert Dobbs Jr., who relocated to Indiana and purchased a farm a few years ago with Indiana as his home base.

It was the second time Roman (photo) had been aboard Temple Paynter. He rode her in her previous start in the Ellen’s Lucky Star Handicap on the turf, finishing second. Roman thinks highly of the filly.

"Last time she (Temple Paynter) broke sharp and was a bit aggressive on the grass, so I put her behind horses,” noted Roman, who is riding in his second year in Indiana after a successful career in California. “I know she is very professional. When she makes her move, she responds very well. So, this time she broke fast. I took her behind the leader in second position. She was very comfortable on the backside. I was waiting for the stretch when I saw the other horse right beside me. I knew they had no chance. I made my move at the quarter pole, and she finished very well.”

For former Illinois Governor Edgar, Temple Paynter becomes his latest premier winner in Indiana. Edgar has been investing in the Indiana breeding program for more than a decade.

Temple Paynter’s dam, Lady Temple, was also a racehorse in Indiana, earning more than $72,000 before joining the brood mare ranks for Edgar, making Temple Paynter a third-generation runner from his breeding program.

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