Page 56 - New Mexico Horse Breeder Summer 2018

SUNLAND pArk
by Michael Cusortelli
New Mexico Breeders’ Derby (R)
Song Of Navarone
Sultry Song
Timely Legend
Carmen’s Delight
Carmen’s Glory
Dela’s Delight
BlaziNg NavaRoNe
Blazing Navarone extended his winning streak to three with a convincing 3 3/4-length score in the $100,000 New Mexico Breeders’ Derby (R) at Sunland Park on March 25.
Racing for George E. Coleman and trainer Henry Dominguez, Blazing Navarone went 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.84 and returned a $2.40 win mutuel as the 1-5 favorite in the field of nine state-bred 3-year-olds. Ry Eikleberry rode the bay son of Song Of Navarone.
Blazing Navarone has won three stakes during the 2017-18 Sunland Park season, including the 6-furlong, $85,000 Four Rivers John Deere Stakes (R) on December 31, and the 1-mile, $85,000 Red Hedeman Mile Stakes (R) on January 21. The gelding was bred by Lucky Six Inc., and he is one of 14 winners from 23 starters sired by Song Of Navarone, a multiple stakes-winning son of the Cox’s Ridge stallion Sultry Song.
Racing in New Mexico, California, and Texas between 2006-10, Song Of Navarone won eight of 21 starts and banked $757,858, and he ran third
in two graded stakes in 2009, including the 1 1/16-mile, $250,000 San Diego Handicap (G2) at Del Mar. Song Of Navarone has sired the earners of more than $814,000 from five crops.
Song Of Navarone is a half brother to Celluloid Hero, a stakes winner at Oaklawn Park and Canterbury Park in ’06. The stallion is owned by
Henry Dominguez and stands at Lucky Six Farm at Sunland Park, New Mexico.
Blazing Navarone is one of four winners from five starters produced by Carmen’s Delight, a win- ning New Mexico-bred daughter of the Relaunch stallion Carmen’s Glory. The gelding is a half brother to Carmen’s Rocket, the third-place finisher in the 2013 Dine Stakes (R) at SunRay Park.
Blazing Navarone’s fourth dam, the win- ning King Of The Castle mare Western Saint, ran second in two stakes during her 2-year-old season, including the Dessie Sawyer Futurity at Albuquerque Downs. The gelding traces back to his fifth dam, Saint Ives, a winning daughter of Crimson Satan and a half sister to the multiple stakes placed Whitesburg filly White Ivy.
Raced exclusively in New Mexico, Blazing Navarone has won five of nine starts, including three stakes, and his 2-year-old campaign included a second-place finish in the 5-furlong, $141,000 Mountain Top Futurity (R) at Ruidoso Downs, and a third-place run in the 6-furlong, $140,000 New Mexico Cup Juvenile Championship (R) at Zia Park. The $60,000 winner’s share of the New Mexico Breeders’ Derby purse increased the geld- ing’s earnings to $228,226.
Dani’s Choice, a 52-1 longshot, finished second and was followed by Western Warning, War Paint Brave, Bad Rabbit, Rio Innoko, Sea
Emperor, Disclosed, and Aztec Emperor. Dani’s Choice is a dark bay or brown son of the Came Home stallion Spankey Come Home
owned by Tony Sedillo. A $6,500 claimer in December 2017, the gelding has won one of his 11 outs, and the $20,000 runner-up share of the New Mexico Breeders’ Derby purse pushed his bankroll to $33,197.
Western Warning races for Pierre and Leslie Amestoy of Albuquerque, who acquired the dark bay or brown Weather Warning gelding as a yearling for $13,000 at the 2016 New Mexico- Bred Sale at Ruidoso Downs. Western Warning has earned $53,734 from 10 starts, and his resume includes a third-place finish, 5 1/2 lengths behind Blazing Navarone, in the Red Hedeman Mile.
54 New Mexico Horse Breeder