Page 26 - 23 November 2012

Ultimate Wave’s winning connections include owner Junior’s Quarter Horses, Inc., trainer Miranda Jorge and jockey Esgar Ramirez.
followed a score in the trial before that. Despite not starting since that win, Ultimate Wave paraded to the post as the Adequan Derby Challenge Championship race favorite, bet down to the 13-10 favorite off of a 5-1 morning line. Bred in Texas by Glenn and Kathleen Collins’ Keilani Farms, Ultimate Wave now has earnings of $116,173 and has won three of five outings.
“This is our first Grade 1 win,” said Yoni Flores of Junior’s Quarter Horses. “He was strong the whole way. We knew he could do it. We have won other stakes races, but it has been a goal of ours this year to win a Grade 1. It is an important accomplishment for us. It’s very exciting.”
Ultimate Wave has every right to be a top-class runner. He is produced from the Grade 1-winning Corona Cartel mare Eye For Corona, who was campaigned by Keilani Farms. An earner of more than $1.1 mil- lion during her lucrative racing career, Eye For Corona captured the 2007 Golden State
Million Futurity-G1 at Los Alamitos and
also placed in that year’s Ed Burke Million Futurity-G1 and the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity-G1. All told, she won four of 12 and placed in seven others.
In addition to Ultimate Wave, Eye For Corona has produced stakes-placed Eye For FDD, third in this year’s Holiday Handicap and fifth in the Governor’s Cup Derby-RG3, both at Los Alamitos.
Finishing second behind Ultimate Wave
in the Derby Challenge was Mr Taka B, a
31-1 long shot in the field of 11 who rallied from fifth to finish second under Freddie Martinez. Trained by John Stinebaugh for owner Vanessa Bartoo, Mr Taka B (Feature Mr Jess-Taka Puna) finished third in last year’s Sunland Park Winter Futurity and was third in this year’s Adequan Ruidoso Downs Derby Challenge. Mr Taka B remains winless this season as both of his career victories came last year at age 2.
Two fillies, Huckleberry Mojito, ridden by Juan Vasquez, and A Game Dame with Stormy Smith in the irons, finished in a dead-heat
for third. Trained by Ed Hardy, Huckleberry Mojito (Feature Mr Jess-Eye Opening Special) won an allowance race over the track in her prior start and finished a close second as the even-money favorite in the Sept. 15 Adequan Prairie Meadows Derby Challenge-G3 for the ownership group LMR 2011. A Game Dame, owned by Michael Amburn and conditioned by Guy Hopkins, captured the Adequan Sam Houston Derby Challenge in May.
Fols Jesse (Jesse James Jr-Sheza Jet Dash), Jess A Comment (First Comment-Jess Quick Fun), Exciting The Planet (Dash Ta Fame- Cash In This Lane), Second Painted Sign (PYC Paint Your Wagon-Stylish Sign), Attack The Cartel (Corona Cartel-Separate Tac), Painted Lies (PYC Paint Your Wagon-Teller Lies), and Special Awards (Winning Awards- Special Ignition) completed the order of finish.
John Deere Juvenile Challenge winner Heroes Heart’s connections include owners Horton Racing LLC, trainer Charlton Hunt and jockey Stormy Smith.
24 SPEEDHORSE, November 23, 2012