Page 47 - 22 June 2012

Ajax Downs Classic
LIL FISHY
by Stacy Pigott
At the age of 5, Lil Fishy became a stakes winner for the first time when she won the $58,000 Ajax Downs Classic on June 5. It was her second win in two starts this year, and her seventh lifetime.
Owned by Dream Chaser Farms, Lil Fishy didn’t make her first start until she was a 3-year-old. She broke her maiden in her second start and shortly thereafter, qualified to the
All Canadian Derby, where she was seventh. She ended the year with a couple of nice allowance wins. As a 4-year- old, Lil Fishy ran eighth in the All Canadian Stakes and then picked up her first piece of black type with a third
in the 440-yard Alex Picov Memorial Championship.
To get her first stakes win, she shortened up to 330 yards in the Ajax Downs Classic. Trained by Bridgette
Cheetham, Lil Fishy drew the inside post position. With Erika Smilovsky in the saddle, Lil Fishy broke on the lead and quickly found herself in front by a half-length. Jesswatchme, in the two hole, ducked out and bothered La Corona Gal, resulting in his eventual disquali- fication. But favored Lil Fishy had clear sail- ing, facing her biggest challenge from Who Ll Stop The Rain in the 10 hole, who was closing
fast under John McInerney. But Lil Fishy held her lead, winning by a neck.
Lil Fishy stopped the clock in :16.640 for a speed index of 102. The Fishers Dash mare earned $22,323 of the purse
to increase her lifetime total to $91,048. Bred by Larry Ward in California, Lil Fishy is the first stakes winner out of the winning Corona Cartel mare Corona Lil. Lil Fishy’s younger half-sister, Cool Blue Corona,
was third in the Far West Futurity last year. Lee Baker trains runner-up Who Ll Stop
The Rain (Jess Rock On-Lady Cal) for owner Les Baker. The 6-year-old mare is a solid allow- ance competitor with eight wins to her credit.
Finishing third was Full Circle Racing’s Frozen Ocean (Ocean Runaway-Sheza Special Chick). Greg Watson conditions the 4-year-old gelding and gave the leg-up to Scott Sterr.
Frozen Ocean’s full brother of the same age, A Shore Thing (Ocean Runaway-Sheza Special Chick) finished fourth, followed by Cole Miner (Bill Cole-Itsthe Chicks Gate), Tres Okie (Tres Seis-Oklahoma Hanka), Beer Man (Count Corona-Merri Roc), La Jolla Royal (This
Snow Is Royal-La Jolla High), La Corona Gal (Southern Corona-La Macya), and Jesswatchme (Feature Mr Jess-Watchin The Rain), who was disqualified from sixth to 10th.
Ajax Downs

First Down Dash
Fishers Dash
Fishers Favorite
LIL FISHY, ’07-m.
Corona Cartel
Corona Lil
Lilly Lion
RACING NEWS
Adequan Arapahoe Derby Challenge
ULTIMATE WAVE
by Tracy Gantz
Apair of grays by the stallion Wave Carver dominated the June 9 Adequan Arapahoe Derby Challenge at Arapahoe Park. Ultimate Wave and Wave Good Bye Baby finished one- two, with the outcome never in doubt.
Ultimate Wave, the fastest qualifier, broke sharply on the rail and immediately went
to the front under jockey Russell Vicchrilli. Wave Good Bye Baby started from post five and never seriously chal-
lenged Ultimate Wave,
though he was clearly best
of the rest. Ultimate Wave
annihilated his foes to win
by 2 1/4 lengths as the 4-5
favorite, racing the 400 yards
in :19.660. Wave Good Bye
Baby had another 1 1/4
lengths on third-place Oak
Tree Charlie.
Owner Junior’s Quarter Horses Inc. and trainer Chris Gandarilla had three in
the Derby Challenge final. Ultimate Wave debuted at Arapahoe last August in his only start at two, finishing fourth. He began
his three-year-old season at Sunland Park, where he finished fifth in a trial, before acing his Derby Challenge trial. With the stakes victory, he earned a berth in the Adequan Derby Challenge Championship-G1 at Prairie Meadows on Oct. 27.
Keilani Farms bred Ultimate Wave from the mil- lionaire mare Eye For Corona. Winner of the 2007 Golden State Million Futurity-G1, Eye For Corona placed in three other graded stakes. She has produced two winners from four starters, including stakes- placed Eye For FDD. The second dam, graded stakes- placed Eye For The Sixes, is
a half-sister to Texas Classic Derby-G1 winner Sixes Royal
and multiple stakes winner Four Six Dash. Wave Good Bye Baby (Wave Carver-Baby
La Jolla) races for owner-breeder Hugo Barron Sierra and is trained by Jose Barron. Alejandro Luna has ridden the gelding in most of his starts, including a third in last year’s Rocky Mountain Futurity at Arapahoe.
Benito Baca piloted Oak Tree Charlie (Oak Tree Special-Beautiful Royalty) for owner-trainer Patrick Sanchez. Sanchez claimed the gelding for $10,000 at Remington Park in March.
Rounding out the field were Hardly A Tres (Tres Seis-Hardly Hateful), Hooray Cowgirl (Separatist-Hooray Baby), Bumblebee (Feature Mr Jess-My Special Phoebe), Forever Here (Feature Mr Jess-Bodacious Dream), and A Regal Warrior (A Regal Choice-Sweet Beduino). Cash This Panther and Galion were scratched.

First Down Dash
Wave Carver
Runaway Wave
ULTIMATE WAVE, ’09-c.
Corona Cartel
Eye For Corona
Eye For The Sixes
SPEEDHORSE, June 22, 2012 47
Coady Photography Clive Cohen: New Image Media