Page 176 - February 2016 Speedhorse

Hialeah Derby
EC JET ONE
by Tracy Gantz
Texans don’t usually need to go to Florida for the winter, but in EC Jet One’s case, the change did him good.
In his first start of 2016, EC Jet One cap- tured the $390,935 Hialeah Derby on Jan. 17.
Having previously raced at Sam Houston Race Park and Lone Star Park, EC Jet One made his Florida debut on Dec. 27 in his trial for the 400-yard Hialeah Derby.
He won by the last of six trial heats after being bumped at the start and dueling to the wire. He finished a neck over Tee Chic to qualify third fastest to the finals.
With regular rider Rodrigo Vallejo in the irons, EC Jet One broke well and received the call out of the gates in the Hialeah Derby.
Grey Eyed Hero to his inside grabbed an early lead at the first call, but EC Jet One put him away fairly quickly.
Tee Chic had a strong kick and mounted a late challenge, but EC Jet One was able to repulse that rival as well to win by a neck in :19.320 as the betting favorite.
The stakes victory earned EC Jet One a 104 speed index as well as the $179,831 winners share of the purse, which boosts his total bank- roll to $299,007.
“He ran a good race,” said Judd Kearl, who trains EC Jet One for owner-breeder Enrique
Carrion. “He outran Tee Chic in the trial, and we drew close to him in the finals. I thought he was the horse to outrun.”
Carrion, whose horses in the past have included mul- tiple stakes winner Azoom, lives in Mexico but has a ranch in Huntsville, Texas. He was delighted with the result of the Hialeah Derby.
“It was a dream come true,” Carrion stated.
Carrion bred EC Jet One in Texas from unraced Pretty Girl Perry. Prior to EC Jet One, Pretty Girl Perry had produced five foals, all by Azoom. She has three winners in four starters, including Alizee, who is stakes- placed in Mexico. EC Jet One is Pretty Girl Perry’s only stakes winner and her highest money earner.
Kearl broke EC Jet One and said that the colt is a “big puppy bear.”
“He’s great to be around the barn—you’d never know he was a colt,” the trainer said. “But he can get race-ready.”
Trainer Leslie Padilla conditioned EC Jet One for his first two starts, both at Sam
Houston Race Park. In
his April 4 racing debut, the colt won his trial for the Grade 2 Sam Houston Futurity, qualifying with the final position. He then he ran third in the April 25 finals after overcoming a bumping incident.
“We took a chip out of his knee after the Sam Houston Futurity,” said Kearl.
EC Jet One returned to the races in October for the Grade 1 Texas
Classic Futurity trials at Lone Star Park. He defeated Tee Chic in his trial to qualify the fastest, but in the final he ran a disappoint- ing sixth.
“Why we had the bad race in the Texas Classic, I just don’t know, but I’m throwing it out,” said Kearl.
Kearl said he would keep EC Jet One in Florida for the South Florida Derby in late February before giving the colt a break.
He and Carrion hope to point him toward the lucrative Grade 1 All American Derby at Ruidoso Downs.
Francisco Garza’s homebred Tee Chic (Jumpn Chic-First Down Tee) ran second for jockey Agustin Silva and trainer R.L. Robinson. At Remington Park last year, the gelding won the Grade 2 Oklahoma Futurity and finished fourth in the Grade 1 Heritage Place Futurity.
I No Shes A Hot Mess (Louisiana Senator-DM Hot Hot Hot), bred and owned by the Reed Land and Cattle Co. LLC, finished third. Larry Payne rode the filly for trainer Kalah Welch. I No Shes
A Hot Mess finished third in the 2015 Grade 3 Ruidoso Juvenile. The filly was second fastest in the trials to the Hialeah Derby after finishing second to top quali- fier Shez A Hot Valentine.
Prized Wagon (PYC Paint
Your Wagon-First Prize Honey) finished fourth, followed by Timepaintyourwagondw (PYC Paint Your Wagon-Time To Get Western), Pryme Time (Teller Cartel-Pumped And Primed), Grey Eyed Hero (Valiant Hero-G Eye Fly), and Fire Em Up Jess (Walk Thru Fire-Feature Jess Rockin). Finnick and Shez A Hot Valentine were both scratched.
Hialeah Park $390,935 • 400 yards :19.320 • si 104
Corona Cartel
The Louisiana Cartel
The Louisiana Girl
EC JET ONE, ’13-c.
Mr Jess Perry
Pretty Girl Perry
Brasis
EC Jet One (#5) and Rodrigo Vallejo score a neck win in the $390,935 Hialeah Derby
174 SPEEDHORSE, February 2016
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Coady Photography