Page 113 - 18 January 2013

Hialeah Laddie Futurity
JOKER ON JACK
by Michael Compton
Owner Wade Helton had plenty of con- fidence in Joker On Jack in the Dec. 30 Hialeah Laddie Futurity at Hialeah Park.
The 2-year-old gelded son of PYC Paint Your Wagon finished an unlucky second by a nose in his Dec. 16 trial race, bumping at the break before unleashing a serious charge to just miss.
“We figured we had a good chance going in,” said Helton. “The jockey didn’t use him up too much in the trial and he still ran strongly in that race.”
In the Laddie Futurity, Joker On Jack left the gate cleanly and was able to utilize the speed he had shown in his two prior wins. Piloted by regular rider Raul Gutierrez, Joker On Jack battled bravely to the wire with Hez Snow Quick to his inside and in a steady effort simply refused to be denied in the 400-yard test. Joker On Jack reached the wire a head in front of Hez Snow Quick, stopping the timer in :19.576, earning a speed index of 97.
“There was one point in the race where
I thought he just might not get there,” said Helton. “But he was game. It was a good race. He is a nice horse.”
Trainer Alfredo Gomez, who trains all of Helton’s 18 runners including five at Hialeah for the current stand, saddled the winner.
“He’s coming home for a rest,” Helton said of Joker On Jack, a $17,000
sale purchase at Ruidoso.
“He’s nominated to all the
big races at Ruidoso later on in the year, so we’ll give him a break for now.”
The $85,865 winner’s share of the $204,440 purse boosted Joker On Jack’s career earnings to $158,069. Prior to the Laddie Futurity, Joker On Jack set a new track record in winning
the Oklahoma Horsemen’s Association Mystery Futurity, dashing 350 yards in :17.28 at Will Rogers Downs in November of last year. All told, he has now won three of seven starts and placed in two others
for Helton. His only off the board effort was a seventh- place finish in his debut over a sloppy track at Remington Park in March of 2012.
“He came out of that first race with sore shins,” said Helton. “We gave him some time off after that and he came back in great shape. He’s always shown promise. From the start, he has acted like a horse that wants to do good. Alfredo has done a nice job with him as he does with all my horses.”
Bred in Oklahoma by Corner K Quarter Horses, Joker On Jack is out of
the stakes-winning Six Fortunes
mare Miss Six Fortune. An
earner of $47,751 during her
racing career, Miss Six Fortune
is the dam of graded stakes win-
ner Runaway Fortune, victori-
ous in the 1998 Central Derby
Challenge-G3 at Canterbury
Park and an earner of $97,316,
and additional stakes win-
ner Start the Commotion,
winner of the 2004 Oceanside
Handicap at Los Alamitos.
She has also produced Grade
1-placed Forget Thinkin and multiple stakes- placed Full Frontal Assault. Her 11 starters have accounted for 25 wins and four stakes wins en route to amassing earnings of $445,025.
Ez Snow Quick, third in his trial behind Connor Corona and Joker On Jack, offered
the winner a stern challenge to the wire, but lost the nod. A Dan Frazier colorbearer, Hez Snow Quick (Wave Carver-Shez Snow Quick) is trained by Matt Frazier and was ridden by Shanley Jackson. The gray gelding shipped to Florida from Indiana where he was competing at Indiana Downs and Hoosier Park.
Connor Corona, winner of the trial race that the top three Laddie Futurity finishers exited,
dueled for the lead in second early and held third on
the line. Trained by Yoani Abreu and owned by M
and D Racing Inc., Connor Corona (King Corona-Sinus Pressure) was ridden by Gerardo Garrido.
Carverson (Wave Carver-Miss Razz Chick), Hey List (Carters Cartel- Shes A Strawfly), Hiclass Fly (Fly Jess Fly-Hiclass Bling),
DM Red Tide (Wave Carver-Sashay N Six), Kodiak B (Coronas Leaving You-Free The Bear), Salado Secret (No Secrets Here-Very Dashing Chick) and Habits Secret (No Secrets Here-Habitual Dreamer) rounded out the order of finish.

Corona Cartel
PYC Paint Your Wagon
Dashin Follies
JOKER ON JACK, ’10-g.
Six Fortunes
Miss Six Fortune
Bowetta Too
Joker On Jack and Raul Gutierrez score a wire-to-wire head victory in the $204,440 Hialeah Laddie Futurity.
SPEEDHORSE, January 18, 2013 111
RACING NEWS
Coady Photography