by James Platz

Some Big Dream and driver Joey Putnam found themselves more than five lengths off the lead as they passed the three-quarter pole Thursday night (April 13) at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino. On the outside and advancing from fourth in the second leg of The Miss Windfall Series, the JK Endofanera sophomore blazed home in :25.3, reaching the wire with half a length to spare in a time of 1:53.3. The victory is the second in as many seasonal starts for the filly, bred and trained by Aaron Stutzman. A sires stakes competitor in the making, Some Big Dream continues a winning lineage that traces back to Indiana champion Summer In Fiji.

Summer In Fiji enjoyed a formidable career but was overshadowed by a peer in the same barn. As a freshman, the Whitefish Falls filly was a perfect five-for-five, capturing the $69,100 Indiana Sires Stakes final at Indiana Downs by more than six lengths. Trained by Mickey Burke, she returned as a sophomore in 2007 to win four times as the stablemate of Go On BB, eventual millionaire and Indiana Hall of Famer. That season, Summer In Fiji managed to best her in-barn rival to capture a second Indiana Sires Stakes final, doing so with a career best 1:51.3 clocking.

A winner in 13 of 40 career starts, the pacer was retired after her 4-year-old campaign with earnings of $173,180. She finished her career as the fastest foal produced by Nihilator mare Nihilarose and ranks second to Morgan Mill in earnings.

Owner Frank Baldachino bred Summer In Fiji and when the first foal sold at auction in 2011, Stutzman made the purchase. Summer N Sand, sired by Sand Shooter, brought $17,000. The filly managed nine starts over two seasons, winning twice.

“She had a couple of starts at 2 and lamed up on us,” Stutzman said. “We brought her back at 3 and she sored up again, so I turned her out for a month or two. We brought her back and I didn’t have time to go race her, so I sent her down to Kristen Shetler for two months and she sored up again. I just turned her into a broodmare. She paced as a 2-year-old in 1:54.1 in her second start. It showed that she had some ability.”

While she was unable to fully display her ability on the track, Summer N Sand passed that ability on as a broodmare. Each of her first six foals have started, with five reaching the winner’s circle. Most notable are Indiana Sires Stakes champions Shnitzledosomethin, a 31-time winner that is closing in on millionaire status and Somethingbeautiful, a 12-time winner with just shy of $500,000 on her card. Sallynsand, a Net Ten Eom filly and the second of Summer N Sand’s foals, sold for $20,000 as a yearling, but soon returned to Stutzman’s Goshen, IN, farm with two bowed tendons.

“She never had two bowed tendons when she left here,” said the breeder/conditioner, operating with his father, Levi, under the banner of Luckiana Farm. “We took her back and I think she made two or three starts as a 3-year-old and we bred her. I’m not one to race a lame horse. What do I have to lose except the stud fee? I can train them.”

Before commencing broodmare duties, Sallynsand managed to collect a single victory, pacing in 1:56.1 at Hoosier Park. Just as he had held onto Summer N Sand due to her ability in limited starts, Stutzman bred Sallynsand because of the strength of the pedigree that was developing.

Some Big Dream arrived in 2020 and was consigned to the Michiana Classic sale in the fall of 2021. Due to the sale’s November date, the breeder began to work with the filly and liked what he saw in the pacer. Bidding on the yearling was light and he decided to bring her back home. She was hammered down for $11,000.

“She looked good when we started her and I said she’s going to have to bring a little money to let her go,” Stutzman said. “She’s out of a Net Ten mare. That was probably her biggest knock. She was an average-sized yearling. She wasn’t large. Most of the buyers are looking for big 2-year-olds. That’s kind of why they shied away from her. But with her family backing her up, I thought we could try her and see what happens.”

Some Big Dream competed only once last year, but she made an impression on Stutzman. Racing in mid-July in an Indiana sired non-winners of one. Andy Shetler guided the freshman to a gate-to-wire triumph, romping by nearly nine lengths in 1:54.2. The favorite paced home in :25.3.

“By mistake we didn’t get her staked last year,” Stutzman said. “We raced her once and she showed ability. I said, alright, we’ll save her as a 3-year-old and stake her for everything. I was impressed. It was a lot of fun, so we decided to save her for this year and see if we can do something.”

This season, the filly is staked to everything at Hoosier Park, including the Breeders Crown this fall. So far, Some Big Dream has turned in solid performances dating back to a qualifier in late March when she wired the field in 1:54.1, closing out the mile in :27.1 with Stutzman at the lines.

“That day she qualified wasn’t the nicest day,” he said. “We had probably a 20 mile an hour headwind. Coming down the lane she paced home in :27.1 under wraps. I thought we should have something here if everything goes well.”

Some Big Dream has backed up the qualifier with a pair of wins in the Miss Windfall, a late closing series with two legs and an $18,000 final scheduled for Thursday (April 20). In the opening round, Putnam and the filly took control after the quarter and cruised to a length and a half victory, tripping the timer in 1:53. In the most recent effort, Some Big Dream started on the outside in the field of seven. Putnam got away fifth and sat patiently through a :58.2 opening half before unleashing the sophomore late.

“I just told Joey to race her but not beat her up,” Stutzman
said. “After the race, he told me he popped the plugs and she took off. She showed us that kind of quarter speed last year already, so I wasn’t really surprised she would do it. Then again, it’s always a surprise when they kick home in :25.3. It’s a nice surprise.”

The breeder believes he has a filly that can be competitive in the Indiana Sires Stakes program.

“I think she’ll be ready,” he said. “She’ll have a lot more experience under her belt. That’s why we started her in these series, to have her ready for that kind of speed and the caliber of horses she’s going to go against.

And the future is bright on the breeding front with the pair of Luckiana mares. Summer N Sand has a Tall Dark Stranger yearling filly and Sallynsand foaled a Freaky Feet Pete filly last year that will sell in Indiana this fall. Perhaps they will become the next generation of winners whose bloodlines carry the influence of Summer In Fiji.

“It’s a good feeling to know that you made a good choice back then and now it’s paying off big time,” Stutzman said of purchasing Summer N Sand and retaining her as a broodmare. “You can see it on paper and you can watch where it’s going.”