Page 245 - December_2023

Bernie Pica Passes Away
Longtime Quarter Horse owner Bernard G. ‘Bernie’ Pica, 86, passed away on Dec. 4. Pica moved from Boston, Massechusetts to Southern
California in 1951. He attended Anaheim High School and loved horse racing as a teenager. He married Barbara Carson in 1964, was a carpenter, and then became a racehorse owner. He rarely missed a weekend of racing at Los Alamitos. Perhaps his best horse was Two Steppin Alibi, who earned $130,882
and won the Marathon Handicap-G1 and Viking Anne Handicap. His wife passed away in 2019, and he is survived by two sons, three grandchildren and many other family members and friends.
2014 World Champion JRC Callas First Dies
2014 World Champion, Aged Champion and Champion Aged Gelding JRC Callas First (Winners Award-Call Missy Jane, Dirty Coup) died on Nov. 14 after an accident that broke his back leg. The 2010 gelding started 42 times with 17 wins and earnings of $631,076. He started in the claiming ranks and went on to win the Refrigerator Handicap-G1, Zia Park Championship-G1 (twice), Sam Houston Championship Challenge-G2, BF Phillips Jr. Handicap-G3, Downs at Albuquerque Fall Championship,
Harris County 550 Stakes, Towers of the Americas Handicap (twice), and TQHA 550 Stakes (twice). Bred by J.R. Cass, JRC Callas First was owned by Dana L. and Brian Stroud, who bought the horse in 2019 for $8,500.
Jockey Kenny Clerisse Passes Away
Jockey Kenneth Alan Clerisse, 67, passed away on Oct. 19. Clerisse was a top rider in the late 1970’s through the early 1990’s at Los Alamitos, winning 608 races and 19
stakes races. In 1983 and 1984, he ranked 11th all-time in Quarter Horse wins and 14th by stakes wins. Among the outstanding horses Clerisse piloted was the legendary Sgt Pepper
Feature. He piloted the 1982 World Champion in the 1981 Skoal Dash For Cash Derby,
1981 Los Alamitos Derby and 1981 Laddie Handicap. In 1982, he rode Sgt Pepper Feature in the Chicado V Handicap and Skoal Dash For Cash Maturity. His other stakes wins included the 1976 Independence Day, the 1980 Double Bid Handicap, the 1978 Jet Deck Handicap, and the 1979 Leo Handicap. Clerisse’s daughter, Cassidy Clerisse, rode in Southern California from 2015 to 2017. She won 17 races, including one Quarter Horse win. Kenny is also survived by his son, Shaun.
APPALOOSAS
LEADING SIRES OF 2023
Sire, Year
2 1 Hes Relentless AQHA, 2011
Current Wins/ Year Starters SW
7 11/5
‘23 Earnings/ Avg. Starter
$124,688 /$17,813
Leading ‘23 Earner/ ‘23 Earnings
Queen For Cash/$58,046
MONEY EARNERS - WINNERS
“SW” in the “Wins” column indicates the number of Stakes wins. # indicates freshman sire.
NEWS BRIEFS
SPEEDHORSE December 2023 243
Find Speedhorse On:
Non-Stakes Races
Evangeline Open Graduation Stakes
Evangeline Downs • Opelousas, LA 10/28/2023 • 350yds • 3&4yo • $41,500 • Fast
:17.863 TDZ Moms Patriot, 3, f, (Jet Black Patriot-Jess Watch Me Mom) Tony Doughtie/D Hoda/U Luna
Dress Me In Blue, 4, g, (Jess Louisiana Blue-Tete File)
Paul Daigle/P Calais Jr/G Lucio Jr
Apollitical Delight, 3, g, (Apollitical Blood-Peacefull Delight) Kenneth Roberts Racing Stables Inc/K Roberts Sr/A Gutierrez
Rank
RANKINGS AS OF DECEMBER 12, 2023
Money Earned Winners
1
2
Flying Cowboy 123 AQHA, 2016
1
6
/3
$167,185
/$167,185
R Cowgirl/$167,185
3
3
gRay CHieF, 2014
8
6
/1
$54,685
/$6,836
Sky Sir/$27,705
4
4
ivoRy King, 2012
3
3
/0
$35,251
/$11,750
Marfil/$22,590
5
5
bP PHoenix Reign AQHA, 2009
2
2
/0
$23,722
/$11,861
A Final Storm/$12,401