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Denim N Diamonds wins her trial to the 1980 All American Derby under jockey Jerry Nicodemus for the third fastest qualifying time, only to be scratched by the stewards in the finals.
R.D. Hubbard congratulates his mare Denim N Diamonds and jockey Jerry Nicodemus after winning the $100,000 HQHRA Championship over Sgt Pepper Feature.
It could have happened several months ago. It probably should have but we never seemed to get to it.
As of this writing Denim N Diamonds is looking forward to the $100,000 Anne Burnett Handicap and riding a 10 race winning streak.
Denim N Diamonds is sired by the Vessels Stallion Farm’s Timeto Thinkrich, and with Denim N Diamonds seemingly on her way to championship honors it is about time she and her sire were mentioned in this space. To steal a worn out cliché, “better late than never,” so we will cover Denim N Diamonds and Timeto Thinkrich this month.
Denim N Diamonds was picked out of the All American Sale for $32,000, as a yearling
by R. D. Hubbard, and it has proven to be an impressive purchase. Bred and consigned to the All American Sale by Raquel Malick, Denim N Diamonds quickly earned her purchase price as a two year old. She broke her maiden at first asking by a length at Sunland Park, and before the sum- mer was over she had qualified for the finals of both the Rainbow and All American Futurities. When she wrapped up her juvenile season her bank account had passed the $73,000 mark.
But Denim N Diamonds’ two-year-old season was just a hint of things to come. After a long rest from the All American Futurity until the Kansas Derby trials, Denim N Diamonds came back in top form. Denim N Diamonds
finished a neck behind arch rival Jaimie Jay in the Kansas Derby and then came back to finish behind her and long shot Rocket Jet Bug in the Rainbow Derby.
In a much talked about series of events, Denim N Diamonds was not allowed to run in the All American Derby after a bad test from
a trial she won by 3 1/4-lengths. Denim N Diamonds has not been beaten since the New Mexico Racing Commission took her down in that derby trial last August.
Denim N Diamonds next surfaced at Sunland Park to close out her three year old season with her first stakes win in the Sunland Fall Derby.
Jaime Jay was awarded the Champion Three- Year-Old Filly title with her victories over Denim N Diamonds in the Kansas and Rainbow Derbies, but it is fair to say that Denim N Diamonds had
a championship caliber campaign in 1980. Both Jaimie Jay and Denim N Diamonds competed against and defeated the best runners of their generation on a consistent basis.
Denim N Diamonds returned to the state from which she was bred in 1981 to find everything to her liking, especially the major stakes races. Still trained by Don Farris, Denim N Diamonds quickly earned a berth in the Champion of Champions with a win in the Peninsula Championship at Bay Meadows. She prepped for the major race of the season for older
Denim N Diamonds wins the 1981 Vessels Maturity under Jerry Nicodemus over Timeto Takeoff and Kita Charger.
Groom Mark Jungers leads Denim N Diamonds and Jerry Nicodemus to the winner’s circle following her victory in the $200,000 Champion of Champions.
SPEEDHORSE, March 8, 2013 49
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