Page 86 - 31 August 2012

GALOBAR HITS MAGIC CIRCLE! From Speedhorse, Formerly Quarter Racing World, March, 1970 Issue
by Speedhorse Staff
Setting: Ruidoso
Time: September 7, 1959
The Race: First Running of the All
American Futurity
In The Gates: A field of 10
One of the flossiest pages in Quarter Racing history was put together when the high brass at New Mexico’s
Ruidoso Downs decided to give short horses something to run for. As an experiment it was about as fantastic as could well be imagined; other tracks hastened to offer horrified pro- tests—such foolishness could set straightaway racing so far back it might never recover! Why pour all that long green down such a rat hole? That bunch was used to running for peanuts! To all of which Ruidoso turned a deaf ear.
The pot of gold there offered immensely surpassed anything previously dreamed of, a gross purse of $129,686. From three trials the ten fastest were picked from a total of 29 colts and fillies nominated.
When the great day came, first out of the gates was Mary Sunshine, closely pursued by Miss Olene and Real Gone. Galobar, stum- bling slightly, swiftly recovered and tore after the leaders. And this was their order at the furlong pole with all of the rest—save Tonta Lass—scarcely heads apart.
At this point Cliff Lambert, who had
the mount on Galobar, did some fast figur- ing, put the chestnut filly into overdrive and began passing horses, no easy feat when one remembers the competition—all determined to get there first for the richest stake ever run per yard.
But Lambert wasn’t the only jock to light an afterburner. Panama Ace began to move like- wise—his hoofs rang loud in Lambert’s ears. By this time Galobar was really rolling, throw- ing clods like a Kansas twister. She passed Miss Olene like a bat out of Carlsbad. And did that crowd roar!
There was no stopping the Hugh Huntley filly. She crossed the beam half a length in front of hard driving Panama Ace, which had been seventh at the furlong. About a neck back was Miss Olene still frantically trying a half- length in front of Quick Mistress, which hadn’t been quite quick enough.
Behind these came Bar Flirt, May’s Pilgrim, Real Gone, Mary Sunshine and Explosive.
Galobar wins the first All American Futurity on Sept. 7, 1959, with a purse of $64,843.43 under jockey Cliff Lambert for owner Hugh Huntley and trainer Newton Keck.
84 SPEEDHORSE, August 31, 2012
Tonta Lass, breaking off balance, went to her knees and, turned on again, bolted to the out- side rail. Ramon Figueroa, who’d set off in her saddle, removed himself from her back before she could reach it.
Running time for this 400 yards was :20.5—four tenths faster than Panama Ace’s top time in the trials!
Galobar, first winner of what has become far and away the richest horse race in the world, was sired by Three Bars out of Josephine R. She carried the blue and gold silks of Hugh Huntley, at the time residing in Colfax, Washington. For this splendid effort Galobar banked $64,843. Panama Ace pulled down,
for finishing second, $23,343; Miss Olene, for the show, got $15,562. Quick Mistress, fourth, received $10,374. Bar Flirt, for fifth, was
awarded $9,078, and May’s Pilgrim, sixth, got the balance of $6,484.
Galobar was trained by Newton Keck.
Huntley told the press later: “We figured it to be a tough go but I was confident she’d win. She’d been working well and was in top condi- tion. We have a full brother who’ll be out here next year. And the year after that we have a half sister to Galobar we think should be capable of running in such company.
“Just after we quit the gate,” Lambert said, “the ground broke under her and I had the wild thought we might take a spill. But she quickly regained her balance and after that I hadn’t much doubt about how we would finish.”
Twelve thousand excited fans poured a new record of $49,734 through the machines. The day’s handle was a new mark, too, of $379,101.
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