Page 242 - September 2023

RACING NEWS
Gordon Mobley Futurity
RED HEADED BEACH
by Michael Compton
Red Headed Beach flexed her muscles in
the $187,012 Gordon Mobley Futurity at Horseshoe Indianapolis on Aug. 12, asserting her
superiority over eight rivals to win the 14th running of the 300-yard fixture as much the best for owner Pattie Marshall and trainer Tim Eggleston.
Ridden by Rolando Pina, Red Headed Beach drew clear early and was in command throughout. She romped home a clear winner, crossing the finish 2 1/4-lengths in front of runner-up Im Jess A Belle. In
winning the initial stakes race
of her career, Red Headed
Beach, the odds-on favorite
in the field of nine, stopped
the timer in a fast :15.472,
earning a 97 speed index while
winning in hand.
The fastest qualifier from the trials, Red Headed Beach is now a winner in two of three lifetime starts, and the $103,895 winner’s share of the purse padded her bankroll to
Heartland Futurity
$113,945. Bred in Indiana by Sheri Miller, Red Headed Beach is produced out of Red Storm Cat mare Red Storm Flash.
According to Eggleston, Red Headed
Beach was slow into stride as a racehorse, prompting the trainer at one point to question her future on the racetrack. Now that she has proven her class, it is safe to say her connections are pleased that they gave her the opportunity to compete.
“Early on, I called them (the Marshalls) and said,
‘You might want to make a barrel horse out of this one,’” Eggleston shared following the facile victory. “She just wasn’t showing much at all, and
her first work was not good at all. Then, in her second and third work she started coming around and in her gate schooling race, she was a different horse. She made it and has just kept on going.”
In a near repeat of their trial heat, Im Jess A Belle (Jess Zoomin-Billie Bob TB) finished second with Luz Martinez aboard for owner Robert Ray and trainer Anthony Cunningham. The top two finishers had finished one-two in the July 22 trial.
Jess A Riot (Jess Zoomin-Mitey Victoria) and jockey Shanley Jackson rallied strongly late to finish third, just a neck behind the runner-up, for owner/breeder Ted Harpold and trainer Shelby Weintraut.
Jess Takin On Cash (Jess Zoomin-JA Red River Rose), Tin Knocker (Habits Secret- Favorite Sissy), Special Bad Habit (Habits Secret-PT Special Eyeopener), Togoodtobelieve (Jess Zoomin-Thruthefireagain), TW Im A Speed Racer (Martis Speed Racer-Im A Lil Witch), and Queen Ofa Beach (Escondido Beach-Bluegrass Princess) completed the order of finish. Drag N My Wagon scratched.
RELENTLESSLY SPECIAL
by Michael Cusortelli
A$57,000 purchase at last year’s Heritage Place Yearling Sale, Relentlessly Special paid dividends to his owner Lisa Cunningham and her husband/trainer Tony Cunningham, as the sorrel son of Champion Hes Relentless won the 300-yard Heartland Futurity at Horseshoe Indianapolis on Aug. 12.
Relentlessly Special defeated Go O Commando by 1/2-length in :15.597 under jockey Francisco Quintero. The gelding earned a 93 speed index and the
$81,136 winner’s share of the
$144,571 purse.
Relentlessly Special was
the seventh-fastest qualifier from six Heartland Futurity trials contested on July 22. The gelding was bred in Oklahoma by Monty McNair, and he is out of Specialscountrychick, a winning daughter of Champion Country Chicks Man, who ran second in the 2012 Black Gold Futurity Championship-RG3
at Will Rogers Downs and was a finalist in the 2013 Texas Classic Derby-G1 at Lone Star Park.
Relentlessly Special’s second dam, the stakes-winning Make It Anywhere mare Special Anywhere, produced three stakes winners, all of whom were half siblings to Specialscountrychick, including 2013 AQHA Turf Paradise Championship Challenge Stakes-G3 winner Specials Gold.
Relentlessly Special has won two of four starts and has banked $96,686.
Go O Commando (Capo De Capi-Black Vail) finished second for owner Brant Barley. Joseph Belloc Jr. rode the homebred gelding for trainer Casey Black.
HG Favorite Energy (Favorite Cartel-Miss Energy P) finished third. Luz “Daniel” Martinez rode the gelding for owner Lisa Cunningham, and trainer Tony Cunningham.
Beach Bikini (Brimmstone-Ms Fool Me Once), Hidden Interest (Seperate Interest- Hidden Dragon), You Know One (One Fabulous Eagle-Doo You Know), One Relentless Fling (Hes Relentless-Fling Open), and
Kid Kwik (The Marfa Lights-Summer Kat) completed the order of finish. Fastest qualifier Cleave and fifth-fastest qualifier Brillant Speed were scratched.
240 SPEEDHORSE
September 2023
“(Relentlessly
Special) was in the make-up ring when Lisa saw him,” said Tony Cunningham, referring to the Heritage Place Sale. “She grabbed me by the sleeve and said, ‘That’s the one I like.’ We were able to get him.
“He’s the type of horse that’s pretty honest,” the trainer added. “He stands up in the gate, and he always breaks well. Our team did a really good job getting him ready for the final.”
Raced exclusively at Horseshoe Indianapolis,
Coady Photography Coady Photography
Horseshoe Indianapolis
$187,012 • 300 yards :15.472 • SI 97
Corona Cartel
Escondido Beach
Six On The Beach
RED HEADED BEACH, ‘21-f.
Red Storm Cat
Red Storm Flash
First Down Payment
Horseshoe Indianapolis
$144,571 • 300 yards :15.597 • SI 93
One Famous Eagle
Hes Relentless
This Dreams Flying
RELENTLESSLY SPECIAL, ‘21-g. Country Chicks Man
Specialscountrychick
Special Anywhere