aqha | Horse Racing Free Tips

Whistle Stop Cafe 2020 World Champion Racing American Quarter Horse, Only Second Juvenile Filly To Earn The Title

Whistle Stop Cafe has been named the 2020 World Champion Racing American Quarter Horse, joining only Laico Bird before her as a 2-year-old filly who earned the world champion title.

Laico Bird earned her title in 1967. This past year, Whistle Stop Cafe was undefeated in six starts, earning $1,974,986. She was also the champion 2-year-old and champion 2-year-old filly.

Owners Whitmire Ranch of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, bought her for a mere $42,000 as a yearling, and trainer Blane Wood and jockey Ricky Ramirez guided the filly to win her Heritage Place Futurity (G1) trial and the Heritage Place Juvenile. She then travelled to Ruidoso, where she won her trial and the final of the $1 million Rainbow Futurity (G1), and went on to win her trial and the final of the $3 million All American Futurity (G1).

Whistle Stop Cafe was bred by Bobby D. Cox and is by Freighttrain B and out of the Mr Jess Perry mare Sinuous.

The champion 2-year-old colt is Dulce Sin Tacha, who won five of six starts and earned $518,403 for breeders and owners Bob and Jerry Gaston. Dulce Sin Tacha is by Jess Good Candy and out of the Tempting Dash mare Prissy Sin Tacha. Trained by Heath Taylor and ridden by Rodrigo Vallejo, his year was led by a victory in the $1,031,211 Texas Classic Futurity (G1).

Apollitical Gold took his run everywhere he went to earn his champion 2-year-old gelding title. Racing for breeder Grant R. Cox Revocable Trust, the son of Apollitical Jess out of SRC Gold by PYC Paint Your Wagon won four of nine starts, with two seconds and three thirds. He earned $972,659. His key efforts included a victory in the Golden State Million Futurity (G1) and third-place finishes in the All American Futurity (G1) and Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity (G1). He was trained by Eddie Willis and was ridden by Justine Klaiber, Jimmy Brooks and Cody Smith.

Supreme Race Horse Danjer was named the champion aged horse and champion aged gelding after a year that saw him win four of six starts and earn $326,061. The 4-year-old gelding, by FDD Dynasty and out of the Take Off Jess mare Shez Jess Toxic, was bred by Dean Frey and is owned by Frey, Downtime Enterprises LLC and Billy Smith. Danjer's Grade 1 wins include The Downs at Albuquerque Championship and the Bank of America Challenge Championship. He was trained by Dean Frey and ridden by Cody Smith.

The champion aged stallion is Eagles Fly Higher, a 4-year-old stallion by One Famous Eagle and out of the First Down Dash mare Lone Bet. Bred by V.H. Harman Jr. and Robert Moudy III, he is owned by Darling Farms, and won three of eight starts, with three additional placings and earnings of $209,973. He won the Sooner State Stakes (RG1), Eastex Stakes (G2) and Bank of America Prairie Meadows Championship Challenge (G2), in addition to two additional Grade 1 placings. He was trained by Casey Black and Jaime Gomez, and was ridden by Mario Delgado, Cristian Esqueda, Agustin Silva and Jesus Ayala.

Michael Pohl and Martin Stacy's homebred Curls Happy Wagon is the champion aged mare. She won half of her six starts during the year, earning $145,822, and won the Mildred N. Vessels Memorial Handicap (G1), Las Damas Handicap (G2) and Decketta Stakes (G2). The 5-year-old mare is by PYC Paint Your Wagon and out of the Spit Curl Jess mare Eye A Spit Curl Girl. She was trained by Stacy Charette-Hill and Juan Aleman and ridden by Armando Cervantes and Jorge Torres.

Tell Cartel made the most starts of any champion during the year, winning half of his 10 starts, with three additional placings, and earning $717,751 while earning the titles of champion 3-year-old and champion 3-year-old colt. Racing for breeder and owner Martha Wells, the Favorite Cartel colt out of the Chicks Beduino mare Chicks Tell won the Los Alamitos Winter Derby (G1), Los Alamitos Super Derby (G1) and El Primero Del Ano Derby (G3), and he was second in the Champion of Champions (G1). He was trained by Matt Fales, and ridden by Ruben Lozano, Eduardo Nicasio and Jesus Ayala.

CERs Final Try honors the memory of his late breeder, Charles E. Robinson, as he is named the champion 3-year-old gelding. Racing for Christina Robinson, CERs Final Try won four of seven starts and earned three additional placings, earning $581,182. His achievements include a victory in the Rainbow Derby (G1) and placings in the Ruidoso Derby (G1) and All American Derby (G1). He is by One Dashing Eagle and out of the Corona Cartel mare BP Shes All Corona. He was trained by Tony Sedillo and ridden by Alfredo Sigala and Manuel Gutierrez.

The daughter of Apollitical Jess out of the First Down Dash mare Shesa First Ratify, Ratification is the champion 3-year-old filly. She races for her breeder Bobby D. Cox and won five of seven starts with one second-place finish and earned $327,308. She won the $315,739 Rainbow Oaks and $421,326 All American Oaks. She was trained by John Buchanan and Juan Vazquez, and was ridden by Francisco Calderon, Esgar Ramirez and Agustin Silva.

The 2014 gelding Madewell is honored as the 2020 champion distance horse. He is a homebred for Ray L. and Davy Madewell, and won four of seven starts, with two additional placings, and earnings of $102,618. He is sired by Jess Jones and out of the A Streak Of Cash mare Streakin Peacock. His wins include the Cox Ranch Distance Challenge Championship (G1) and the AQHA Downs at Albuquerque Distance Challenge (G2). He was trained by Bernard Baca, and ridden by Benito Baca, Jorge Bourdieu and Stormy Smith.

Freshman Eyesa Timber is the Canadian champion. Bred and raced by Wesley T. Oulton, the Alberta-bred gelding is by First Timber and out of the Mr Jess Perry mare Eyesa Perry. He began his year racing in the United States before returning home, where at Century Mile he won the Alberta-bred Futurity and Canada Cup Futurity (G3). He won four of seven starts, with two second-place finishes, and earned $56,491. The horse was trained by Wesley Oulton and Durk Peery, and ridden by J. Botello, Jose Rocha and Jose Vega.

Cuadra La Presita saw its homebred Juanito Y Danny win three of four starts, earning $152,310, to be named the Mexican champion. The 2018 gelding by Danny Cartel is out of the Ought To Be First mare Toles. He won the Subasta Selecta Futurity (RG3) and was third in the Garanones Futurity (RG3). The horse was trained by Ismael Ayala and ridden by Yair Daniel Baez, L. Vidana and Jose Angel Ambrosio.

The South American champion is Fantastic Fly Apollo, a 2017 colt racing for breeder Ademir Jose Rorato. The horse won six of eight starts, with two seconds, and earned $66,861. His wins include the Campeao Dos Campeoes, Brasil II Triplice Coroa and Sorocaba Futurity. He is by Fantastic Corona Jr and out of the Eyesa Special mare Flyapolloeyesa BR. He was trained by Rivail Rosa and ridden by B. Guimaraes and J. Santana.

American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame horseman Bobby D. Cox earns his third champion breeder title, as his horses earned more than $2.4 million more than any other breeder. Included among them are world champion Whistle Stop Cafe and champion Ratification. California horsewoman Martha Wells saw her horses, which include champion Tell Cartel, win at a 14% clip, and she is named the champion owner. Trainer Eddie Willis earned his first nod as the Blane Schvaneveldt champion trainer, with earnings of more than $2.7 million in the year, including champion Apollitical Gold. James A. Flores is the champion jockey for the second consecutive year, with earnings of more than $3.5 million.

The post Whistle Stop Cafe 2020 World Champion Racing American Quarter Horse, Only Second Juvenile Filly To Earn The Title appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Successful Racing Quarter Horse Now Besting Barrel Competition

Second career racehorse This Is Debt and owner Ty Lloyd receive an award. PHOTO: Courtesy of Brandi Lloyd

A warhorse, in racing parlance, is a horse who has made more than 50 career starts. By its very definition, a warhorse has to be not only talented, but also sound and gritty enough to withstand the rigors of an extended campaign.

This Is Debt, a 2005 sorrel gelding, is a warhorse –and is now a first-race speed event horse.

Bred in Ontario by Brian Farrell, he was campaigned by the Farrell family–owned by Bill, trained by Laurie–exclusively at Ajax Downs in a career that spanned from 2007 to 2011. He won or placed in 15 of his 52 starts, earning $57,698, including appearances in the 2008 Maple Leaf and Ontario Bred and Foaled derbies.

Sired by Royal Evening Snow, he is out of the Pacific Bailey mare Pipe Dream Bailey.

Brandi Lloyd is a lifetime horsewoman and is friends with the Farrell family. She served as a groom for This Is Debt during his racing career and loved his Pacific Bailey bloodlines. She asked the family if she might be able to get him when his racing career was over and train him for speed events like barrel racing and pole bending.

“They called and said he's ready to come and get,” Brandi says. “I picked him up and we gave him about a year off, and then I started him back. He's been super easy. He's light, runs to the snaffle, took to the barrels really easily. He's excelled in pole bending. He keeps getting better and better.”

The horse the family calls “Pretty Boy Roy” or “Roy” has adapted well to his new life. Brandi trained him on the barrel pattern by riding exhibition runs at events while her two sons were running their ponies. She says that Laurie Faurell's horsemanship and early training of Roy made the horse's transition from racing to arena competition especially easy.

When her son, Ty, was old enough, Roy was given to him for a Christmas present. They have been competing together for about four years.

“Roy and Ty just click,” the proud mom says. “They make a great team. I trained the horse, but he runs harder for Ty. Ty motivates differently than I do, too, and kinda hangs it out there, and Roy really tries for him.”

Roy has earned 6.5 points in limited AQHA competition, as well as several Top 10 finishes in barrels and pole bending at the prestigious All American Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio.

The family goes to events together, mainly competing at National Barrel Horse Association and Ontario Barrel Horse Association competitions, with Brandi and Ty riding, and her dad and younger son sitting together in the stands, providing priceless Statler-and-Waldorf-type commentary on their videos.

“He's pretty great,” Brandi says of Roy. “He has an attitude some times, but as far as working with him, he has a great work ethic, he's happy to do his work and do his job.”

While Roy is the family's first second-career racehorse, he's probably not going to be their last. In addition to having a great horse, they've also gotten checks from the Ontario Quarter Horse Racing Industry Development Program, which promotes the careers of Ontario-bred racehorses even after they leave the racetrack.

“Honestly, I'd do it again in a heartbeat,” Brandi says. “I'd encourage anyone interested to look at one for sure.”

This story, which is part of the Second Career Stars series, originally appeared on the American Quarter Horse News website and is republished here with permission. Second Career Stars is an ongoing series on retired racing American Quarter Horses in new careers. If you know of a horse that should be featured, write to acaudill@aqha.org. AQHA News and information is a service of the American Quarter Horse Association. For more news and information, follow @AQHARacing on Twitter, “like” Q-Racing on Facebook, and visit www.aqha.com/racing.

The post Successful Racing Quarter Horse Now Besting Barrel Competition appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Fiery Off-Track Quarter Horse Becomes Barrel Racing Star In Two Countries

She lit the board in her career as a racehorse, and now Biscuit De Feu is lighting the board as a barrel horse in two countries.

Biscuit De Feu–whose name is “fire cookie” in French–was bred in California by Bryan and Pamela Scheer, owned during her racing career by Jeannie Baldwin and saddled by champion trainer Kenneth Roberts in Louisiana.

The strapping 2013 brown mare has an unusual racing pedigree, as she is sired by First Down French, a son of one of barrel racing's all-time leading sires, Frenchmans Guy, out of a mare sired by A Classic Dash.

Her dam is High Tide, a daughter of champion runner Ocean Runaway and the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame stallion Strawfly Special's daughter, Casual Slip Knot.

Biscuit De Feu's racing career was limited to two starts as a 2-year-old, including a solid second-place finish, when her connections decided it was time to move her into her new career.

Leanne Marie Sine of Dewinton, Alberta, was looking for something sired by First Down French, who was himself a successful barrel racing horse and sire, and she found Biscuit De Feu on Facebook and bought her.

“She caught my eye,” Sine said. “And then I really liked her bottom side, too.”

The mare, now known as “Ferrari,” moved to her new home in Alberta, and the barn of her owner, who is a professional trainer specializing in reining and barrel racing horses.

Sine's skill has paid off for the mare her owner describes as “an absolute little firecracker.”

The mare was racetrack broke when she arrived, and Leanne was prepared to be patient teaching the horse her new job.

“I took my time with her, went back to the basics and got her really broke,” Sine said. “I train reiners, too, so I put a really strong foundation on her. She's a real sensitive horse and a little bit hotter bred too, so lots of slow work and really took my time with her. I got her broke, broke, broke.”

Ferrari is a workaholic, and is saddled up on average six days a week – she doesn't like taking time off.

They travel to events in Alberta, as well as traveling to the United States to compete. Their first year they debuted in some smaller futurities and events, allowing Ferrari to learn and build confidence. In 2019, the first of her derby years, they began stepping up to bigger events, with placings and 1D wins, including a top 10 finish at the AQHA World Championship Show in Level 2 senior barrel racing.

“She's just full of herself, but a sweetheart to have around,” Sine said. “Just a personality.”

As for 2020, it's the final derby year for the mare and Sine had plans to campaign the mare, but, well, “This year … our plans have kinda got kiboshed.”

“This is her last derby year and I had some bigger stuff planned that we didn't get to do,” she said. “But hopefully (we'll get to) some bigger races and rodeos (when things start back up), we will see what she wants to do.”

The post Fiery Off-Track Quarter Horse Becomes Barrel Racing Star In Two Countries appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

USTA’s Williams: Time Has Passed For Standardbred Industry To Get A ‘Place At The Table’ With Federal Bill

U.S. Trotting Association President Russell C. Williams submitted the following letter to the editor to the Paulick Report this week. Williams wanted to share his thoughts on a letter we published Oct. 16 from USTA director David Siegel. Siegel urged the Standardbred industry to “extend an olive branch” to supporters of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 with the hope of active participation in any forthcoming federal racing authority.

My friend David Siegel urges the Standardbred industry to be practical and sit down with the federal bill's key supporters to influence its direction regarding Standardbred racing. This is one of several calls for us to come to the table. All of them suffer from a fundamental misunderstanding of how laws work.

Passing a law is completely different from, say, issuing an invitation to discuss a plan to strengthen integrity, something that never happened in this case. If the bill passes, it will become a federal statute. “Place at the table” platitudes like David's ignore that with a statute you can get what is provided in the statute, and you cannot get what is not provided. For a negotiation to have any meaning at this point, it would have to be possible for the bill's language to change before it becomes a statute. Our experience over more than three years demonstrates that this is impossible.

A good example of how the bill leaves nothing to be discussed at any table is its special approach to race-day Lasix. The key supporters selected this particular therapeutic medication and explicitly banned it. A remarkable gauntlet of language in the bill makes even the slightest modification of the ban impossible to achieve. There is, therefore, nothing to negotiate regarding the race-day Lasix ban, enshrined as it is in the language of the bill itself. This exemplifies the fallacy in the “be practical and negotiate” message.

The same goes for all the other ways in which the bill is unacceptable. Since we were first inserted into the bill without our knowledge or consent, the Standardbred industry has repeatedly explained our objections to it, every one of which would require changes to its language. The key supporters have consistently set their faces against even a single change. Thus, a one-sided negotiation has already been going on for more than three years, during which our concerns have been completely disregarded.

The United States Trotting Association is not alone in objecting to the language of the bill. The National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association represents 29,000 Thoroughbred people who are not in racing for the silver cups. Like most USTA members, most of them make their living in racing and, like us, they object to the language of the bill. The American Quarter Horse Association has 221,000 members, and they also object to the language of the bill. None of us is interested in an opportunity to sit down now, at the Children's Table.

The time for harness racing to have been offered a place at a table was before we got shoehorned into a done deal of someone else's making. That would have been a good faith moment in which to discuss a legislative approach that would credibly allow for the profound differences in the breeds, account for the still-unknown costs that a new federal regulatory tier will rain down on us if we tolerate this legislation, and preserve to us the decisive voice in our own destiny that we deserve to keep.

Fortunately, we have other, eminently practical ways to prevent the federal bill's key supporters – no, let us call them what they are: its elite supporters — from imposing their notion of a future on us.

The post USTA’s Williams: Time Has Passed For Standardbred Industry To Get A ‘Place At The Table’ With Federal Bill appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post