Page 109 - December 2015

Champion of Champions-G1
HEZA DASHA FIRE
by Tracy Gantz
When 10 horses of the caliber of those in the Champions of Champions-G1 field meet on Dec. 12, conventional wisdom says any one of them can win. But as the horses lined up in the Los Alamitos starting gate, the question in most people’s minds was: Will it be 3 year old Heza Dasha Fire or 4 year old Moonist?
In the past, the only question about Moonist was whether he would break well because if he did, he would win. Moonist broke perfectly in the Champion of Champions, but Heza Dasha Fire was ready for him. The younger gelding gunned from the outside with such an early explosion that he answered the question in the first few strides.
“I could see the other horses about 50 yards into the race,” said jockey Cruz Mendez. “But at about 100 yards into the race, we were on the lead and I thought to myself, ‘We’re going good.’ ”
That was an understatement. Heza
Dasha Fire powered past Moonist, and
while Moonist tried valiantly to stay with him, Heza Dasha Fire proved his superior-
ity in this race. He defeated the courageous Moonist by 1 1/4-lengths, completing the 440 yards in a swift :21.204. No less a horse than Apollitical Jess holds the Los Alamitos track record of :20.939, set when he won the 2010 Champion of Champions en route to a World
Championship.
It’s a good bet that Heza
Dasha Fire will follow Apollitical Jess to his own World Championship.
Don and Kathy Meneely and their son, Shawn,
bred Heza Dasha Fire in Washington and race him
in the name of S-Quarter K LLC. The three of them had matching wide smiles after the race, while trainer Jose Flores looked awestruck.
“This is the biggest race at my home track and a race I’ve dreamed of winning for a long time,” said Flores.
After Heza Dasha Fire posed with an enormous group of connections in the winner’s circle, Kathy gave him a huge kiss on the nose.
“I always try to give him some loving after the race,” said Kathy. “He’s a sweetheart. If he’s lying down in his stall, I go in and I can sit down beside him. We just chit-chat a bit.”
Heza Dasha Fire easily balances his career with his friendliness. Kathy said that the day following his victory in the Los Alamitos Super Derby, one of Flores’ grooms put his 6-year- old daughter on Heza Dasha Fire in his stall.
“That’s Dash—he’s just a nice horse,” said Kathy.
The nice horse was winning his fourth Grade 1 race in the Champion of Champions. He has lost only once in 11 starts, when fourth in the 2014 Los Alamitos $2 Million Futurity. The Meneelys did win the 2015 Los Alamitos $2 Million Futurity with Ima Fearless Hero, a half-brother to Heza Dasha Fire. Dasha Freda,
the dam of them both, has produced a total of five winners in six starters. The others include Mexican stakes winner Heza Fearless Dasher.
Moonist (Separatist-Your First Moon) finished second for trainer John Cooper and owner Ronald Hartley. Cesar DeAlba rode him. Paul Jones trains third-place Dashin Brown Streak (Hotdoggin- Annas Streakin Dash) for Melvin Hatley and the estate of C.W. Navarre. G.R. Carter Jr., was in
the irons. Completing the field were French Fury (Stoli-Streakin Jessie Gail), Far Niente (FDD Dynasty-Shahayla), Quirky (Stel Corona-Dont Pass Bar), Seperate Interest (Separatist-A Delightful Legacy), Well And Good (Separatist-How Good), Solid Connection (Mr Jess Perry-Dinastia Toll BRZ) & Rock You (Foose-Babe On The Fly).
Los Alamitos $600,000 • 440 yards :21.204 • si 105
First Down Dash
Walk Thru Fire
Sweet Beduino
HEZA DASHA FIRE, ’12-g.
Mr Jess Perry
Dasha Freda
Fearless Freda
Heza Dasha Fire and Cruz Mendez win the Champion Of Champions by 1 1/4-lengths
SPEEDHORSE, December 2015 107
RACING NEWS
Los Alamitos