Randy Morse won a pair of 2-year-old maiden races at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., on July 11 with Randy Patterson's filly Verylittlecents prevailing by 2 1/4 lengths at five-eighths of a mile and Donna Clark's colt Texas Red Hot wresting victory by a head at seven-eighths of a mile. Both youngsters were making their second start.
Now Morse tries to pull off a sweep at the next level, with Verylittlecents the 2-1 favorite in the $125,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Debutante and Texas Red Hot at fat 8-1 in the $125,000 RUNHAPPY Ellis Park Juvenile.
Morse is very high on Texas Red Hot, even if the Texas Red colt doesn't seem to get that much respect elsewhere.
“He's a really nice-moving colt,” he said. “I'm really high on him. He ran a really slow (speed figure) number the other day. But we'll see. I think he's pretty special. In his last race, it had rained that day. I think they'd opened (harrowed the track) up, and it still wasn't very fast, let's put it that way. It was really muddy out of the chute, and that race was seven-eighths.
“But bottom line is, he did it very professional, I thought. He was boxed in behind horses, nowhere to go. And when he did get a seam, he did what he needed to do.”
Texas Red Hot, who'd been second in his debut, made a leap forward between races. Morse expects another progression for this race, saying, “I think the farther they keep going he'll just get better and better.”
Verylittlecents finished fourth in her first start.
“She got away really bad,” he said. She had the one hole. But she's really quick. But she showed she had some class, because she kept finishing that day, where most of them when get away bad will just throw in the towel.”
Morse said she put it together in her last start. “A horse came up and hooked her, and when he asked her, she ran away from the field,” he said.
“The filly looks pretty good on paper,” Morse continued, speaking of the Debutante. “The colt, he's going to have to step up numbers-wise. But I think he's capable.
“Both of them, knock on wood, have done very well. Both of them had a really good breeze here, worked in a minute by themselves, just real easy. As hot as it's been, I haven't wanted to overdo anything with them. They're still just babies, still learning.”
No matter what happens Sunday, Morse believes both babies have a bright future.
“This doesn't mean their whole future, this one race,” he said. “…. (but) you'd like to see them finish. This is seven-eighths of a mile. This will separate a lot of them. They're doing well. It's just a matter if they're good enough.”
Joe Talamo rides both horses.
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