Page 45 - 8 June 2012

Fine Loom Handicap
VALENTINO DE LAO
by Tracy Gantz
Asuccessful horse at 870 yards, Valentino De Lao had previously come close in a couple of stakes before capturing the May 27 Fine Loom Handicap. Putting in an huge run on the turn, he scored easily to win over the Memorial Day weekend at Ruidoso Downs.
Off a bit slowly from the outside in the seven-horse field, Valentino De Lao used the turn to his advantage. Jockey Esgar Ramirez hustled the gelding up into
perfect position. Valentino
De Lao quickly passed
three horses to take the lead
midway on the bend. That
momentum carried him well
clear to win by an easy three
lengths in :45.840.
Owner Tony Carnes only tried Valentino De Lao three times at shorter distances.
In his first attempt at 870 yards, Valentino De Lao broke his maiden, early last
year at Sunland Park. He didn’t win again until October, when Carlos Sedillo took over his training. The gelding scored three times in allowance company and then qualified
for the Red Cell New Mexico Challenge-G3. He finished second in the final and second in the SunRay Park Marathon Handicap before capturing the Fine Loom.
Valentino De Lao is sired by the stakes- winning Thoroughbred stal- lion Apollo. Don and Allysn
Apodaca bred him in Texas from winner JJs First Feature. The mare has produced three winners from five starters. JJs First Feature is a full sister
to New Mexico Juvenile Challenge-G3 winner JJs Featurett and a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Featuring Creole.
Cat Five Storm (Panther Mountain-She Wants Cash)
finished second for jockey Saul Ramirez Jr., trainer Jeffrey Reed, and owner Teddy Abrams Jr. The 5-year-old mare won last year’s Virgil Bond 870 Stakes at Delta Downs, Marathon Stakes at Los Alamitos, and Red Cell Sam Houston Distance Challenge.
Git Er Done (Holland Ease-Queen Of Everything) ran third for owner-trainer Martin Orona Sr. with L. Perez aboard. In 2011, the 9-year-old gelding won the Herman Jefferson Stakes-G3 at Zia Park and the Marathon Handicap at SunRay Park.
Completing the field in the Fine Loom Handicap were Ribald-TB (Unusual Heat- Short Stories), Bye Bye Jess (Dashin Bye-Shes Jess Special), Apollos First Down (Apollo- TB-Ms Devine Diva), and Emperor Valerian (Heza Fast Dash-Sheeza Lil Val). Kineticat Yankee-TB was scratched.

Falstaff
Apollo-TB
Tumble Along
VALENTINO DE LAO, ’08-g.
JJ Shot Glass
JJs First Feature
Enter My Feature
RACING NEWS
New Mexico Breeders’ Stakes
FURY OF THE STORM
by John Moorehouse
Fury Of The Storm has come into his own during his sophomore campaign as a com- petitor. The colt posted his second win in three
starts as a 3-year-old, all in stakes company, by withstanding Untangled Vines to claim victory
Fury Of The Storm made up for lost time in this 400-yard stakes, breaking from the outside gate of a nine-horse field and quickly grabbing the lead. Jockey Esgar Ramirez kept the colt in front for the remainder of the race, holding off a fierce challenge from Untangled Vines to make it to the wire first by a neck.
The win produced a $45,000 payday that increased Fury Of The Storm’s total earnings to $192,231. The lion’s share
of that amount, $162,546, has been amassed during the cur- rent campaign. Fury Of The Storm now has four wins in eight career outs, and has run exclusively in New Mexico.
Bill and Sandy Miller bred Fury Of The Storm and own the colt’s dam, Bubbles Bunny, a 1997 mare who logged three wins among 33 total starts. Bubbles Bunny has foaled two starters among
three total offspring, but Fury Of The Storm is the only winner in the brood.
Untangled Vines (Jesse James Jr-Tangled Vines) finished second by three-quarters
of a length. Yaneth Cabrera is the owner and Miguel Castillo the trainer. Macario Rodriguez was in the irons. Sparklin Royal (Sixes Royal-Sparkling Ojos) took third by a neck for Gary Kloppenburg. Carlos Sedillo trains the filly, who had Jaime Leos aboard.
The remaining order of finish was First Blazin Love (Chicks A Blazin-Love At First Glance), My Big Chief (Get Down Perry- Majorly Easy), Little Lighting (Furyofthewind- Serenas Quick Dash), Caliente Colt (Corona Caliente-Perfect Serens), A Royal Debt (Sixes Royal-Jesstifiable Debt) and Latest Policy (Latest Version-RR Rebs Easter Comet). Runaway Sham Bo was scratched.
in the $75,000 New Mexico on May 20 at SunRay Park.
Breeders’ Stakes
Owned by the SM Cattle and Jaime Dominguez, Fury 2-1-0 thus far in 2012. He opened the season by finish- ing second in the Shue Fly Stakes at Sunland, then won the NMHBA Stakes at that same track about six weeks later. That win, on Feb. 19, was Fury Of The Storm’s most recent out before the New Mexico Breeders’ Stakes. The Roberto Sanchez trainee was entered for the Animas Stakes at SunRay in April but scratched.
Export Company Of The Storm is

Corona Cartel
Furyofthewind
Dashing Phoebe
FURY OF THE STORM, ’09-c.
Sail On Bunny
Bubbles Bunny
A Smooth Bubble
SPEEDHORSE, June 8, 2012 43
Tommie Morelos: Coady Photography Ruidoso Downs