Page 14 - January 2018

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by Jennifer K. Hancock
New Year, New BegiNNiNgs
Happy New Year and welcome to all the new possibilities and beginnings that come with a new calendar! For horsemen, the short days and long winter nights often mean sleepless nights as future Champions make their way into the world in pastures and foaling stalls across the land. Race meets across the country are beginning again from California to Louisiana and points in between as the new year unfolds and the super stars of 2018 begin to make their way to the starting gate.
We’ve wrapped up another season of racing, which means it’s time to crown the Champions of 2017. The American Quarter Horse Association once again held an announcement ceremony to coincide with the Winter Mixed Sale at Heritage Place in Oklahoma City. The Racing Champions Ceremony was Jan. 17. Our February issue will offer in depth coverage of the 2017 Champions as well as of the Jan. 18-20 Heritage Place 0Winter Mixed Sale.
welcome to the hall
Ruidoso Downs began the year by announcing the members of the class of 2018 for the Ruidoso Downs’ Racehorse Hall of Fame.
The 2018 class of inductees includes the late Carl Pevehouse, representing owners/breeders, trainer Jaime Gomez, jockey Cody Jensen and racehorse One Famous Eagle. Lowell Neumayer will be presented with a special achievement award at the ceremony that will take place in June.
The Racehorse Hall of Fame adds a select group of inductees every year that includes only one owner/ breeder, trainer, jockey and horse per class.
Pevehouse, who died in 2014, will always be remembered as the developer of horses with “Candy” in their names. He built an undeniable reputation for breeding the highest quality horses with a limited number of mares. His horses were his passion. The Oklahoma native bred 2015 Champion 2 Year Old
and Grade 1 All American Futurity winner Jess Good Candy, who also won the 2016 Grade 1 Ruidoso Derby. Undefeated from eight starts, the homebred stallion earned more than $2 million. Pevehouse bred Jess Good Candy’s first three dams, each a stakes winner or stakes-winning producer. Pevehouse also bred Grade 1 winners Send Me The Candy, Send Me A Candy Tree and This Candys Red Hot. Pevehouse- bred horses have won 44 stakes.
Horses trained by Gomez have 89 stakes wins, capped by 36 Grade 1 wins. Gomez has won virtually every major stakes race at Los Alamitos. He won the 2017 Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million with J Fire Up, the 2017 Los Alamitos Super Derby with Chazaq, who was piloted by Jensen, and the 2008 Grade 1 Champion of Champions with Champion Jess You And I.
Jensen’s earnings as a jockey are approaching
$38 million. At Ruidoso Downs, Jensen has two All American Futurity wins, four Rainbow Derby wins and two Ruidoso Futurity wins to go with an All American Derby victory. He also has Grade 1 wins at Los Alamitos, Remington Park, Sunland Park and Lone Star Park.
One Famous Eagle, who was the 2008 Champion 3-Year-Old Colt, won seven of 11 starts and earned $1.3 million for owners Burnett Ranches Ltd. and Johnny Trotter, who bred the Champion. The son of Mr Jess Perry won the 2007 Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity, the 2008 Grade 1 Los Alamitos Super Derby and the Grade 1 Golden State Derby. Now owned by the One Famous Eagle Syndicate, One Famous Eagle stands at the Four Sixes Ranch and has sired four Champions – 2012 World Champion One Dashing Eagle, Champion Imperial Eagle, Champion Hes Relentless and Champion Moonin The Eagle. Last Labor Day, Fly Baby Fly became his third All American Futurity winner, following One Dashing Eagle and Imperial Eagle. In 2017, One Famous Eagle offspring earned $5.2 million of his career progeny earnings of $23.6 million.
Neumayer, the general manager of the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale Company, will be honored for his long service and building the New Mexico elite sale. In 1989, Neumayer’s first year, the Select Yearling Sale grossed $1.7 million and the 2017 Select Yearling Sale and the New Mexico-bred Sale grossed $20 million. The 2017 Select Yearling Sale included the first in- utero sale.
When he joined the sale staff he thought he would stay one year, but he’s still going strong.
“I just love what I do,” Neumayer said.
More information about Ruidoso’s induction ceremony and summer race meet will be available at www.raceruidoso.com in the future.
ThE MonTh in rEviEw
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SPEEDHORSE, January 2018
Track chaTTer