(Royal Justice captures the Ellen’s Lucky Star at Horseshoe Indianapolis on Saturday / Photos by Coady Media)

From the Horseshoe Indianapolis Media Team / Tammy Knox:

Royal Justice rules in Ellen’s Lucky Star

at Horseshoe Indianapolis

 

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Saturday, July 5, 2025) – Ellen’s Lucky Star is one of Indiana’s stars from the past, honored with a race named in her honor. Now, a new star is emerging as Royal Justice was a commanding winner in the 17th running of the Ellen’s Lucky Star Handicap, scoring the lion’s share of the $100,000 purse for the one mile turf event in a time of 1:34.80.

Off Pitch was the first horse out of the gate with early speed from the center of the track. Royal Justice followed suit, tracking Off Pitch and Sammy Bermudez to the first turn. Off Pitch established herself as the top female heading down the backstretch with Royal Justice and Fernando De La Cruz biding their time in second on the outside. In the final turn, De La Cruz asked Royal Justice for another gear, and she responded in a big way. Track Announcer John Dooley noted at the head of the lane, ‘she was going for it.’ Royal Justice was on top of the field by open lengths in a few short strides and then proceeded to extend her advantage to six and one-half lengths in what Dooley called “a blowout.” Temple Paynter and Evin Roman finished second in a photo over Innisfree Lass and Alberto Burgos.

“I didn’t know exactly how it was going to go because it was her (Royal Justice) first time I got on her and first time going over the turf,” said De La Cruz, Indiana’s all-time leading jockey in earnings and wins. “But the trainer [Aaron West] was really confident the horse was going to like it, so he just told me to put her in position. Get her to the quarter pole, and if you have horse just take off.”

Royal Justice was a big upset winner, paying $48.00 for the win. The four-year-old daughter of Cloud Computing was bred and raised by Justice Farm’s breeding operation. Greg Justice of Justice Farm still owns the filly, who is trained by Aaron West.

“Greg (Justice) really supports the Indiana program,” said West. “I’m glad for them they got this win today. This filly (Royal Justice) has done nothing wrong since stretching out. The only question was could she get across the turf, and she showed us today she could.”

Royal Justice remains undefeated in two starts this year for her connections. Overall, she has three wins in nine starts with earnings of more than $130,000.

“I knew we had it at the three-eighths pole,” added De La Cruz, a native of Peru. “I had plenty of horse, and I saw nobody was coming. That’s when I realized I had enough horse to make it to the finish.”

The 23rd season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing runs through Thursday, Nov. 13. For more information on racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis/racing or find details on social media @HSIndyRacing.