SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024) — Apollitical Mission and Rolando Pina completed their assignment in the 12^th running of the $59,920 Leader of the Class Sale Futurity Thursday, Sept. 12. The race leads into the 14^th QHRAI Yearling Speed Sale which begins online bidding Friday, Sept. 13 and extends through 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
 
Apollitical Mission was the fastest qualifier from the trials and was tagged as the favorite in the final field of 10. Coming out of the gate from post five, he broke evenly with several of his opponents and held his ground through the initial stages of the 350-yard dash. Stablemate Beach First and Aron Hunt had a short lead early on with MG Fresca and Eduardo Diaz also in contention along the inside. As the field reached the tote board, Apollitical Mission emerged with a little more speed and was able to pull in the win by a neck over Beach First. MG Fresca maintained her ground for third. Time of the sprint was :17.926.
 
“He’s always been a little late leaving,” noted Pina. “But once he gets going, he’s got a kick. When I switched sticks, he really took off. I did that also in the trials and remembered he responded. I’ve always liked this horse.”
 
Apollitical Mission is now two for five and has only finished off the board once in his career. Trained by Tim Eggleston, the son of The Transmission bumped his career earnings over the $50,000 mark for owner Phillip Harrison, who took over the stable following the passing of his father, Dick Harrison, this past year.
 
Apollitical Mission carries on the breeding tradition Dick spent so many years building. He is a third generation horse from their farm in Battle Creek, Mich. and his grand dam was 2012 Broodmare of the Year.
 
“This horse’s mother (Apollitical Deb) is actually the last foal of Precious Debutante,” noted Phillip. “We lost her to colic soon after this horse’s mother was born. My dad had a knack for picking out the right stallion. I questioned him a little on The Transmission, but he was right. This horse has been a surprise. Dad (Dick Harrison) is probably looking down with a smirk.”
 
Phillip, a retired banker, always had an interest in racing and was active behind the scenes. He was ready to step up and continue the family’s involvement with Quarter Horse racing following his father’s passing. They have a half brother named A Flare for Politics in the QHRAI Yearling Speed Sale selling as Hip No. 22.
 
“There is a three-year-old still racing out of this mare (Apollitical Deb) and we have this yearling in the sale,” added Phillip. “Shannon Stafford raised this horse and the yearling for us. She did a great job. We are also really excited with the help we’ve gotten from Tim and Keli (Eggleston). Their entire crew has really helped us out a lot.”
 
Eggleston has been impressed with Apollitical Mission from the start. He was one of the horses that stood out among all the two-year-olds he had in his barn for the 2024 season.
 
“They talked about selling this horse (Apollitical Mission) and I told them no, you need to keep him,” explained Eggleston. “He’s shown promise from the very start. He’s one of those horses that has been under the radar, but he’s starting to shine. I think he will just get better and better.”
 
Eggleston and Pina picked up their second straight victory in the Leader of the Class Sale Futurity. They scored the win last season with Red Headed Beach, who went on to be named 2023 Indiana Quarter Horse of the Year. She also set the stakes record last season at :17.535 seconds.
 
The 22^nd season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing extends through Thursday, Nov. 14. Racing is held at 2:10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. One additional all-Quarter Horse racing day is set for 10:45 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5. For more information on live racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis/racing or find the track on Social Media @HSIndyRacing.