Page 194 - July_2023

RACING NEWS
Mexico Futurity-RG3
FELINA EAGLE
by Luis Prieto Zamudio, translation by Speedhorse
This futurity is restricted to two year olds
of Mexican breeding and auctioned at the 2022 Hipódromo de las Américas. It began with 18 trial races held on April 15 and 16, which resulted in the 10 finalists, who returned to compete three weeks later on May 7.
There were 134 horses entered for these races, ten of which were withdrawn for different reasons, leaving 124 that were ranked according to the time registered by each one in their trial. The list was headed by Feature Mr CC with a challenging :12.818, the only one
to break the 13 second barrier at 250 yards, obtained in trial three on April 15. Next up was Jhon Jhon SR with :13.032, which he set in trial three the following day.
For the first time in this futurity, all the participants in the trials presented negative results to the hair tests prior to entering this futurity in accordance with the rules agreed upon by the horsemen in the Mexican Association of Quarter Horse Breeders and Horsemen (AMCCCCM).
At the start, Feature Mr CC (#5) veered to the left and contacted the filly FF Gracy Cartel
(#4), causing him to go down
hard with his jockey Mario
Alberto López Marmolejo,
both of whom were uninjured.
“It was something so fast and
unexpected that I couldn’t do
anything to avoid it. Later we found out that in the incident the horse lost its left front horseshoe,” Mario Alberto stated afterwards.
The other participants ran in a close
duel, standing out in the final yards were Felina Eagle (#8) and Cortez Feisty (#9), who finished in that order with a nose difference in a time of :13.35. It was a surprising result since their odds were 16.00 and 22.55 for first place, respectively; and in the trial races they were positioned with the fifth and seventh qualifying times.
Orlando Fernando Monterrosas was the jockey responsible for leading Felina Eagle to victory. Upon their return, they were met by trainer Ismael Parra Martínez to enter the winner’s circle where they were awarded by AMCCCCM executives, headed by its
President Javier Rosique
León and by José Mauricio Dorantes, Manager of Operations at the Hipodromo de las Américas.
After the victory, Orlando Fernando Monterrosas talked about his career
and his opinion of the race and the filly. Orlando, born in Puebla, is 25 years old and has been riding since 2012 in match races. “I made my debut at the Hipodromo de las Américas on July 3, 2016, finishing in third place with the filly Playin Peekyboo, from the SR Hermanos Stable. Since then, I ride both on the tracks and at the racetrack, where I have won the Carlos A. Sosa Valencia Classic with Illusion Impala (2021); then the Abelardo Gallegos Classic (2022) riding OMG Royal Julion, owned by my brother Odón Monterrosas. The third and most important
in my career is the México Futurity-RG3 with Felina Eagle, thanks to the encouragement that my partner Mario Alberto López Marmolejo gave me to start riding her from her first outs and the trust of her trainer Ismael Parra Martínez.
192 SPEEDHORSE July 2023
Felina Eagle and jockey Orlando Fernando Monterrosas win the $273,167 Mexico Futurity.-RG3
Hipodromo de las Americas
$273,167 • 250 yards :13.35
One Famous Eagle
Jabuti Eagle SA
Queen Of Appeals
Felina Eagle, ‘21-f.
Relagate TB
Feminine Feline
DC Patti Cat
Juan Carlos Velázquez/Hipodromo de las Americas