Page 59 - NMHBA Spring 2020

La Coneja Stakes
Susans Violette, a 5-year-old daughter of Stellar Rain owned by Steven D. Stewart and trainer Bennie L. “Chip” Woolley Jr., led at every call and held on at the wire to win the February 8, 6-furlong La Coneja Stakes (R) for New Mexico-bred fillies and mares at Sunland Park.
Ridden by Enrique Gomez and sent to post as the 7-5 favorite in the full field of 12, Susans Violette defeated Orogrande by a neck in 1:09.92. The mare returned a $4.80 win mutuel while banking the $60,000 winner’s share of a $100,000 purse.
Susans Violette was bred by Michael E. Malouff Jr., and she was stretching out in distance off of her 4 1/4-length victory in the 5 1/2-furlong, $100,000 New Mexico State Racing Commission Handicap (R) at Sunland Park on December 28. The mare is the first black-type stakes winner sired by Stellar Rain, an unraced 12-year-old son of the Storm Bird stallion Storm Cat and the multiple Grade 1-winning Wild Rush mare Stellar Jayne.
A half-brother to the stakes-placed Cosmic Girl, Stellar Rain has sired 14 starters and the earners of more than $518,000. The stallion
is owned by Wendy Davis of Tucson, Arizona, and he stands for a $1,500 fee at Terry and Nan Lane’s TNL Farm at Bosque, New Mexico.
Susans Violette’s dam, the winning Proudest Romeo mare Bruisen Susan, ran third in the 2006 Manhattan Beach Stakes at Hollywood Park. A 2003 Florida-bred foal, Bruisen Susan has produced two winners from as many starters.
Susans Violette’s third dam, the winning Vindaloo mare Creme De Violette, was a half- sister to Michael’s Raptor, a multiple stakes placed runner at Thistledown Racetrack in Ohio in ’98. Her fourth dam, Cyard, was a daughter of Darby Creek Road who won the 1986 Kindergarten Stakes (R) for Ohio-breds at Beulah Park and was a half-sister to K.O. King, a six-time Ohio-bred stakes winner from 1988-89.
Susans Violette and Orogrande, an 8-1 longshot, combined for a $31.20 ($2) exacta. Campaigned exclusively in New Mexico, Susans Violette has won seven of 12 starts and has earned $312,888. The mare’s four stakes victo- ries include the 2018 New Mexico Cup Oaks (R) at Zia Park and New Mexico State Racing Commission Handicap (R) at Sunland Park.
Sexy Bikini Model ran third, a half of a length behind Susans Violette. I’m A Dancin Who, Let It Roll, McGlorious, Sidewinder Sally, Beautiful Bounty, Flight Song, Sky Vue,
Ballinouttacontrol, and Runaway Katie com- pleted the order of finish.
Runner-up Orogrande is owned by W.D. Carson Sr., M.H. Carson and Leach Racing LLC, who also bred the 5-year-old Quinton’s Gold mare. Orogrande has won four of 24 starts, and the $20,000 runner-up share of the La Coneja Stakes purse pushed her bankroll to $219,744.
Sexy Bikini Model races for Brian Mundell. A homebred chestnut daughter of the Forest Wildcat stallion Attila’s Storm, the 4-year-old filly has won two of nine outs, and the $10,000 third-place share of the La Coneja purse increased her earnings to $55,844.
by Michael Cusortelli
SUNLAND PARK
Stellar Rain
Storm Cat
Stellar Jayne
Bruisen Susan
Proudest Romeo
Creme De Violette
SUSANS VIOLETTE
SPRING 2020 57