Page 45 - Speedhorse July 2018

winning by 4-lengths. “After Easy Jet won the yearling race so handily, a well-known Quarter Horse race trainer, who went on to become one of the all-time leading Thoroughbred trainers, offered me $75,000 for Jet,” Merrick continued, “But, I realized by this time that I had my hands on something really special, so I turned it down.” Merrick also found that Easy Jet was something special when he worked him against Jet Smooth and the younger brother won the race.
With Merrick as the trainer, Easy Jet set the world on fire in 1969 when he competed in a phenomenal 26 races, winning 22 of them with three seconds and one unplaced finish. Running an average of a race every two weeks, Easy Jet was run in five states: Oklahoma, Colorado, Ohio, Texas and New Mexico. He won nine stakes races. Easy Jet officially won his first stakes race on January 12, 1969, with a win in the Blue Ribbon Futurity, and ended the year with a win in the Sunland Park Fall Futurity on November 30, 1969. In between, he won the All American Futurity, Kansas Futurity, Rocky Mountain Futurity, Columbus Triple Crown Futurity, Lubbock Downs Futurity, Laddie Stakes and
the All American Quarter Horse Congress Futurity. He was second in the Texas Futurity, the Oklahoma Futurity and the Raton Futurity. As a two year old, Easy Jet earned $409,155 and was named 1969 World Champion, Champion Stallion and Champion 2-Year-Old Colt.
Merrick took his World Champion home to stand at stud in 1970 and then he returned him to the track after the breeding season.
He raced 12 more times, winning five with four seconds and two thirds and another $36,565. Easy Jet won the Raton Derby, the Rocky Mountain Derby and the Colorado Wonderland Stakes. He was second in the Sunland Park Fall Derby and third in the World’s Championship Quarter Horse Classic. Easy Jet was named the 1970 Champion Stallion and the Champion 3-Year-Old Colt.
At stud, Easy Jet quickly became the all- time leading sire of money earners, race winners and racing ROM. He is still 11th on the leading sire of money earner’s list 26 years after his death in 1992. He sired 2,507 foals with 2,019 starters with 1,563 ROM, 145 stakes winners with 243 stakes wins, 168 stakes placed runners placing in 458 stakes races. His foals earned $26,237,832. His leading money earner is Mr Trucka Jet, one of his All American Futurity winners in 1984. His other All American Futurity winners were Easy Date (in 1974) and Pie In The Sky (in 1979), both Champions. He sired seven more Champions for a total of nine: Megahertz, My Easy Credit, Easy Move, Easy Angel, Extra Easy, Easily Smashed and Shoot Yeah. His Champions won 13 Championships.
The daughters of Easy Jet produced 6,857 foals, with 4,300 starters, 2,928 racing ROM, 223 stakes winners and 429 stakes wins. These runners earned $51,699,403. The leading money earner in this group is All American Futurity winner Eastex. He was one of twelve Champions out of Easy Jet daughters. These Champions include: Cash Perks, Concorde Special, Dashing Perfection, Easygo Effort, Fabulous Form, Four Forty Blast, Legend Of Dash, Liberty Coin, Rise N High, Takin On The Cash and Teller Cartel.
THE THREE BARS/LENA VALENTI NICK
Lena Valenti, the Thoroughbred mare that had such an impact on Merrick and the Quarter Horse world, produced seven foals with six starters/ROM, two stakes winners and one stakes placed runner. This is a good record for a mare to have. When we look at the two stakes winners, we see how Three Bars and Lena Valenti had a nick that stands out in this mare’s produce record. Beside Lena’s Bar, the other foal from this cross was Little Lena Bars and she reinforces the success of the nick between these two great horses.
Little Lena Bars was like her sister Lena’s Bar in that she didn’t begin racing until she was three in 1963. She started 11 times that year with seven wins, a second and two thirds for earnings of $5,774. Little Lena Bars won three stakes that year, the Captain Dick Handicap,
Lena’s Bar is the fourth dam of 1997 Champion Fabulous Form (below), by Rare Form and out of Venice by Easy Jet.
Lena’s Bar is the fifth dam of 1998 APHA World Champion Royal Quick Flash (below), by Royal Quick Dash and out of Venice Song who is the All-Time leading Paint Sire of over $6.6 million.
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SPEEDLINES