by James Platz

Memorial Day and the days that followed marked an important transition in the Hoosier State’s racing landscape. The holiday signaled the beginning of Indiana Sires Stakes (ISS) competition, and the Indiana Sired Fair Circuit began a four-month slate with programs on June 1 and 2 at the Converse Fairgrounds. One year ago, trainer Matt Rheinheimer chose to point trotting filly Naturdays to the fairs, providing a foundation that is serving her well this season at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. The 3-year-old scored a 1:53 triumph in the first leg of ISS action Monday night (May 29), defeating favored Yo Beth D in a $50,000 division by three parts of a length.

“I just didn’t think at that time she was ready,” Rheinheimer said of foregoing Hoosier Park for the fairs. “I knew she was going to have to trot a bunch. I didn’t want to blow her mind. I just wanted to take my time with her and I thought this would be a better option. She was kind of a late bloomer so we really didn’t push her. We just let her tell us where she wanted to go. I raced her at the fairs and she was good, so we kept her at the fairs to make the fair final and teach her something.”

Naturdays didn’t enter the first round of fair races last June at Converse. She wasn’t entered a week later at the same location. The Helpisontheway—Windsongmusclelady freshman didn’t make her first start until the series returned to Converse the third time on June 22. She raced fifth that day with Rheinheimer in the bike. It was an accomplishment to line up behind the gate after the challenges in the months leading up to that date.

“I’m not going to lie to you, as a 2-year-old she was very frustrating as I was training her down,” Rheinheimer said. “She would make random breaks. I had the trotting hopples off her, I had the trotting hopples on her. Once she got to a certain point, it just seemed like everything clicked.”

In the starts that followed at Frankfort on June 27 and July 4 last summer, Naturdays gradually improved her results, trotting to a third-place finish and a runner-up performance where she finished a neck short. In her fourth career start, a fair race at Portland, the trotter broke her maiden. The win was eventful, and Rheinheimer came away from the event witnessing how his filly handled adversity after making a break in traffic.

“They jammed up in front of me and I ended up running over somebody’s wheel,” he said. “She made a break, but came right back and ended up winning that day, and was impressive doing it. That was an impressive mile for me. The fact that she got frustrated and came back and overcame everything. It was a big deal.”

Purchased by Middlebury residents Al and Deb Miller and their grandson, Brackton, for $30,000 at the Hoosier Classic sale, the filly put together a four-race winning streak heading into the $25,000 Governor’s Cup Championship at the Indiana State Fair. Rheinheimer steered the trotter to a third-place finish.

“Training her down, she was never a very good-gaited filly,” Rheinheimer said. “It just took her a while to learn how to trot and how to go forward. Once she got a couple of fairs into her and figured out what it was about, then she was all business and she liked what she was doing.”

After the Governor’s Cup, the freshman moved to Hoosier Park to make another six starts, registering four victories. Naturdays competed in the last two sires stakes legs leading into the $250,000 Super Final. She trotted third in the first attempt, elevated to second by the judges. However, she made her second break of the season in the last leg, finishing seventh but improving to sixth following the disqualification of another horse. It was the only time in 2022 that she missed a check, and also prevented her from accumulating the points needed to make the Super Final.

Naturdays finished the season with a victory in the $25,000 sires stakes consolation, trotting in a lifetime-equaling mark of 1:56. Matt Krueger, who guided her in her last four Hoosier starts, steered her to a more than four-length advantage at the wire. The filly closed out the campaign with eight wins while hitting the board in 12 of 14 starts. Bred by Mervin Lehman, Orla Bontrager, John Lengacher Jr. and Black Creek Farm, she earned $63,845 for her connections. Just as her recovery from a break at Portland had shown Rheinheimer Naturday’s determination, the consolation win offered a glimpse of what could be in 2023.

“That was the deciding factor; that night,” he said. “That’s why we decided to shut her down and wait for next year. We turned her out until after the first of the year and we were just going to wait until later on in the spring to get her qualified. She was eligible to non-winners of four and five and I just didn’t want to throw her in over her head before we had to.”

Naturdays turned up at Hoosier Park for the first time this spring on May 10 in a qualifier. That day, Trace Tetrick sat through a :58 half before moving her first up and kicking away from the field in the stretch by nearly nine lengths, stopping the clock in 1:57. She made her pari-mutuel debut May 17, starting from the second tier. Krueger and Naturdays trotted home in :27.1 to finish fourth, timed in 1:54.4.

“Her first start down at Hoosier Park, Matt drove her exactly how he should have,” Rheinheimer said. “He left her on the rail and let her trot home. It couldn’t have been more picture perfect. We didn’t have to qualify in :57 and then drop to :53. It was a gradual thing, and it makes you feel good about it. I was very happy with that.”

Monday night, Krueger and the filly used a pocket trip to perfection. As Yo Beth D and Tetrick moved to the lead from post 8, second-choice Naturdays slipped in behind and sat through fractions of :27.3, :56.4 and 1:25.2. In the stretch, the sophomore outkicked the competition to pick up the victory and push her career earnings to $90,000.

“Going slow, you just think she’s a horrible horse,” Rheinheimer said. “But, man, when you put the speed to her, she’s got a beautiful gait and smooths right out. She’s very deceiving when she’s going slow, because you just don’t think she can trot like she can. We were hoping she would come back to be a sires stakes horse, but you never know. She’s come back as well as I could have hoped she would. I’ve been very happy with her so far.”