Page 54 - September 2018

2018 ALL AMERICAN FUTURITY QUALIFIERS
3
PILOT POINTS MOON SI 101, $9,480
Pilot Points Moon and Adrian Ramos drew clear in the lane to win by 1 1/2-lengths
Race record: 2-2-0-0 Day 2, Race #9
Pilot Points Moon is the only horse to make it to the All American Futurity with an undefeated record. The gelding raced just once prior to the All American trials, winning a 300-yard maiden at Ruidoso Downs on Aug. 4. His wire-to-wire victory that day was impressive and factored into his 3rd-favored
status in the 9th All American trial on Aug. 18. Under the guidance of jockey Adrian Ramos, Pilot Points Moon broke quickly from the outside post as Jess B Glory & Symbol Of Faith sprinted to the front. Pilot Points Moon found the lead midway in the race and drew off from there, crossing the wire 1 1/2-lengths on top. His winning time of :21.520 was the day’s fastest and earned the 3rd spot overall on the qualifiers’ list. Wes Giles, who was 2nd in last year’s All American Futurity, saddled Pilot Points Moon
for breeder/owner Grant Farms LLC. The Louisiana-bred gelding is by Champion First Moonflash, the sire of 2013 All American Futurity winner Handsome Jack Flash si 104 ($1,517,491). Pilot Points Moon’s dam, the graded stakes-winning Splash Bac mare Ms Pilot Point si 105 ($73,706), is also an All American producer, as she is the dam of 2010 winner Mr Piloto si 89 ($1,002,240), as well as stakes winner Paint My Pilot si 102 ($339,376) and stakes-placed Point Break Dash si 99 ($413,127), among others.
4
IM JESS SPECIAL V SI 92, $73,262 Valeriano Racing Stables’
Im Jess Special V took second by a neck & qualified under Agustin Silva
Race record: 5-2-1-1 Day 1, Race #1
homebred Im Jess Special V qualified for his 2nd major futurity at Ruidoso Downs on Aug. 17 when he ran 2nd in the 1st trial to the All Ameri- can Futurity. The gelding previously finished 5th in the Ruidoso Futurity-G1 on June 10. Trained by Toby Keeton, Im Jess Special V has been overlooked in most of his
starts, racing as a 21-1 longshot in his debut at Remington Park. He finished 3rd that day, then returned in a trial to the Ruidoso Futurity, which he won as a 9-1 outsider. The 2nd-longest shot in the finals, Im Jess Special V ran a consistent race to end up 5th. That Grade 1 experience resulted in fans taking notice of Im Jess Special V, who was sent postward favored in the Rainbow Futurity trials. He justified their backing with a win, though his time wasn’t enough to qualify. His luck changed in the All American trials, where, his time of :21.521 under jockey Agustin Silva punched his ticket to the Labor Day classic. Im Jess Special V is the leading performer for his sire, Jess Lips
si 111 ($398,529), and is out of Special Follu Dash ($8,148), a full sister to stakes winner Folly N Dash si 98 ($32,522) and 1/2-sister to PYC Paint Your Wagon si 107 ($889,581), Mi Angela si 107 ($137,723), Ivory James si 103 ($220,026), and others. Im Jess Special V is from the 1st crop of Special Fol- lies Dash and is a 1/2-brother to winner Crude Cartel V si 89 ($5,400).
52
SPEEDHORSE, September 2018