Neck 'n Neck rallies for Indiana Derby triumph

Neck 'n Neck rebounded sharply from a sub-par effort in the Travers Stakes to win the $500,000 Indiana Derby (gr. II) this afternoon at Hoosier Park in late-running fashion.

Ridden to victory by Brian Hernandez, who won the Indiana Oaks (gr. III) earlier on the card, Neck 'n Neck did not get off to a particularly quick start and soon found himself in tenth place, ahead of only Stealcase as Fed Biz and Junebugred dueled through fractions of :23.60 and :48.32 seconds. Tritap, Second City, Morgan's Guerrilla, and O'Prado Again were also quite close to the pace, while Bourbon Courage, Afford, Easter Gift were toward the rear of the field.

Following three-quarters of a mile in 1:12.70 seconds, Fed Biz left Junebugred behind and briefly opened up a moderate advantage, but Neck 'n Neck was rallying strongly on the far outside, and the son of Flower Alley soon took over the advantage and went on to win by a length in 1:42.71.

Bourbon Courage also rallied well to finish second by a head over Fed Biz, while Morgan's Guerrilla rounded out the superfecta. Afford finished fifth after briefly looming a serious threat at odds of 134-1. Tritap, O'Prado Again, Easter Gift, Junebugred, Second City, and Stealcase completed the order of finish.

The winner is owned by Steven Miles Jr. and trained by Ian Wilkes.

-Keelerman

Indiana Derby Entries: Fed Biz, Bourbon Courage top field of 12

El Cajon Stakes winner Fed Biz and Super Derby (gr. II) winner Bourbon Courage are among the prominent entrants in the $500,000 Indiana Derby (gr. II), to be run on Saturday at Hoosier Park.

The highlight of a spectacular card that includes nine other stakes races, the Indiana Derby has also drawn such promising colts as Matt Winn Stakes (gr. III) winner Neck 'n Neck, Remsen Stakes (gr. II) winner O'Prado Again, and Ontario Derby (gr. III) winner Stealcase.

Post Positions

PP	Horse	Weight	Jockey	Trainer
1	Easter Gift	124	Kendrick Carmouche	Nick Zito
2	Morgan's Guerrilla	121	Victor Lebron	Mike Maker
3	Junebugred	124	Terry Thompson	Steve Hobby
4	Fed Biz	124	Rafael Bejarano	Bob Baffert
5	O'Prado Again	124	Corey Lanerie	Dale Romans
6	Tritap	117	Shaun Bridgmohan	Steve Asmussen
7	Afford	121	Florent Geroux	Greg Geier
8	Bourbon Courage	124	Leandro Goncalves	Kellyn Gorder
9	Stealcase	124	Jermaine Bridgmohan	Mark Casse
10	Second City	124	Mario Gutierrez	Ben Cecil
11	Neck 'n Neck	124	Brian Hernandez, Jr.	Ian Wilkes
12	Adirondack King	117	Stewart Elliot	John Servis

-Keelerman