Page 80 - New Mexico Summer 2022

SUNRAY PARK
Photos by Coady Photography
Russell & Helen Foutz Distaff Stakes (R)
Mr. Gold Mover
Mr. Greeley
Gold Mover
Poison Pen
Lemon Drop Kid
Venitienne
LEMON DROP GOLD
Paul Jenson’s Lemon Drop Gold took the lead at the three-sixteenths pole and rolled to a three-quarter length victory in the April 23, 6 1/2-furlong Russell & Helen Foutz Distaff Stakes (R) for New Mexico-bred fillies and mares at SunRay Park.
Prepped by Juan M. Gonzalez, Lemon Drop Gold stopped the timer in 1:17.73 under jockey Frank Reyes. The 5-year-old Mr. Gold Mover mare earned her second stakes win while banking the $60,000 winner’s share of the $99,000 purse.
Lemon Drop Gold is one of three official black-type stakes winners from 49 starters sired by Mr. Gold Mover, an unraced Virginia-bred son of the Gone West stallion Mr. Greeley. A half-brother to stakes winners Giant Mover and Maleeh, Mr. Gold Mover has sired the earners of more than $1.7 million from seven crops, including stakes winners Sidewinder Sally and P J’s Gold.
Mr. Gold Mover is owned by Barton Ranch Stables LLC and Blake Rust, and he stands at W.L. and Dee Mooring’s Double L Ranch at Bosque, New Mexico.
Lemon Drop Gold is also the lone starter foaled by Poison Pen, an unplaced Kentucky- bred daughter of the Kingmambo stallion Lemon Drop Kid. Her second dam, the winning Giant’s Causeway mare Venitienne (GB), has produced two starters.
Lemon Drop Gold’s third dam, the Caerleon mare Victory Cry (IRE), won two stakes in France in 1999, including the Grand Prix de Vichy Stakes (G3). Lemon Drop Gold traces back to her third dam, Verveine, a Kentucky- bred daughter of Lear Fan who won two stakes in France from 1991-93, including the 1993 Grand Prix de l’Opera (G2) at Longchamps Racecourse. A 1989 foal, Verveine produced a total of four stakes winners, including Volga (IRE), a full sister to Victory Cry who won three graded stakes in North America in 2003, including the $750,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes (G1) at Woodbine Racecourse near Toronto.
Raced exclusively in New Mexico, Lemon Drop Gold has won four of 10 starts and has earned $159,766, of which $126,912 has been banked from five outs this season. The mare began her 2022 campaign with a 3 1/2-length victory in the 6-furlong, $100,000 New Mexico State Racing Commission Handicap (R) on New Year’s Day.
Lemon Drop Gold was sent to post at odds of 13-1 and returned a $29.80 win mutuel. Proofsinthepuddin ran second and was followed by Tutta Terlingua, Flaxy Lady, Marking Time, 19-10 favorite Our Time To Shine, Line Call, Autumn Touch, and Bikini Time.
Proofsinthepuddin is a 4-year-old daughter of the Bernardini stallion Marking campaigned by Reliance Ranches LLC of Guthrie,
Oklahoma. A half-sister to 2017 Copper Top Futurity (R) runner-up Red Raider, the chestnut filly has won three of 13 races, and the $20,000 runner-up share of the Russell & Helen Foutz Distaff purse pushed her earnings to $126,084. Proofsinthepuddin’s sophomore season record included second-place runs in the 5 1/2-furlong, $50,000 Sierra Starlet Stakes (R) at Ruidoso Downs, and the 6 1/2-furlong, $100,000 Petticoat Stakes (R) at Albuquerque Downs.
Tutta Terlingua races for Yuliana Yanez. A 5-year-old daughter of the Storm Cat stallion Stellar Rain and the unraced Tiznow mare Tiz Stella Bella, the gray or roan mare has won six of 28 outs while campaigned in New Mexico and Arizona, and the $10,000 third- place share of the purse increased her bankroll to $122,695.
78 New Mexico Horse Breeder
Lemon Drop Gold’s winning connections include owner Paul Jenson, trainer Juan Gonzalez, and jockey Frank Reyes.