Page 49 - September 2019

Easy Jet set a standard that will probably never be repeated by another 2-year-old racehorse.
SPEEDLINES
Easy Jet wins the 1969 All American Futurity
came into the All American trials losing his last two starts with a second in the Raton Futurity and a fifth in the Rainbow Futurity.
When it came time for the trials, Easy Jet won his in :20.10 to become the co-third fastest qualifier with Velox Bar. The fastest qualifier was Miss Three Wars in :19.96, with Good Bird Bars making the finals as the second fastest qualifier in :20.12. The next qualifiers were Go Together in :20.18, Go Debbie Go in :20.25, Cute Kiss in :20.28, Jet Threat and Parr Pooh in :20.30, and Top Divi in :20.31.
Despite his two recent losses, Easy Jet was installed as the betting favorite. But, mother nature provided the biggest challenge for all 10 finalists. It had rained for three straight days and the track had turned officially “sloppy.” It was also described as a “sea of mud.”
Well, the “sea of mud” parted and Easy Jet took control early in the race and they couldn’t catch him. He came home 1/2-length in front of Miss Three Wars, with Velox Bar another length back in third. Top Divi was fourth, Go Together fifth, Good Bird Bars sixth, Jet Threat seventh, Cute Kiss eighth, Parr Pooh ninth, and Go Debbie Go tenth. Easy Jet won the race with jockey Willie Lovell in the saddle in the AAA time of :20.46 for the 400 yards and when
you consider the “sea of mud” they ran in, it speaks highly of this great runner. Easy Jet won $159,840, giving him total winnings to that point of $340,000 for his two-year-old year.
Easy Jet didn’t stop after winning the All American Futurity. He came back on Sept. 28 to win the Laddie Stakes at Centennial; on Oct.
22 he won the Rocky Mountain Quarter Horse Association Futurity at Centennial; on Nov. 1 he won the All American Quarter Horse Congress Futurity at Beulah Park; and on Nov. 30 he
won the Sunland Park Fall Futurity at Sunland Park. This brought his race totals for the year to 26 starts and 22 wins, with three seconds and earnings of $409,155. He was named the 1969 AQHA World Champion, Champion Stallion and Champion Two-Year-Old Colt.
Merrick took Easy Jet home for a rest and to breed some mares. When the breeding season was over, he went back to the track where he had 12 more starts with five wins, four seconds and two thirds. He earned $36,565 winning the Raton Derby, Rocky Mountain Quarter Horse Derby and Colorado Wonderland Stakes. He was second in the Sunland Park Derby and third in the World’s Championship Classic. Merrick expressed in later years that this was probably not the best way to continue Easy Jet’s career
and that his record as a three year old would have been better had he not bred the mares but rather focused on racing. Easy Jet retired with 38 starts and 27 wins, seven seconds and two thirds. His total earnings were $445,720. He was named the 1970 AQHA Champion Stallion and Champion Three-Year-Old Colt.
Easy Jet went on to be not only a successful sire, but also a very influential sire. At the
top of the list of great foals we would have to include his three All American Futurity winners in Easy Date in 1974, Pie In The Sky in 1979 and Mr Trucka Jet in 1985. His foals earned $26,237,832, and he is the broodmare sire
of horses that have earned $51,705,687. His leading winner in this category is Eastex, who won the 1984 All American Futurity.
Easy Jet set a standard that will probably never be repeated as a two-year-old racehorse. But he went on from there to become a
valued ingredient in the pedigrees we see today, helping others fulfill the All American Dream. His influence has fallen back in the pedigree, but when you look, you see his powerful influence through such great sires as Apollitical Jess, Mr Jess Perry, Streakin La Jolla and Streakin Six, who trace in their sire lines to Easy Six by Easy Jet. Moon Lark was the
1979 World Champion and became a World Champion Sire.
SPEEDHORSE, September 2019 47