Page 60 - 8 February 2013

1998 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Deelish wins the 2000 Go Man Go Handicap at Los Alamitos, setting her up to be named 2000 Champion Aged Mare.
in 1967 with Velox Bar on her side. She was a daughter of Ed Echols and out of Miss Ginger S by Joe Traveler. Jodie Echols was an unplaced runner in the only official start she had.
Velox Bar rewarded the Gentry Brothers by becoming a stakes winner in the 1970 New Mexico State Fair Handicap. His other black type came with third-place finishes not only in the All American, but also the Laredo Casa Blanco Futurity in 1969 and the Los Dos Laredo Derby in 1970. He netted $63,892 on the track and finished first, second or third in 15 of 26 starts. He was the last stakes winning son of Three Bars. It is interesting to note that he earned seven AQHA halter points as well.
Velox Bar was retired to stud, but life as
a breeding stallion was short lived as he sired only 44 foals in two crops. He sired 17 ROM with one stakes winner and three stakes-placed runners. A bright spot in this sire record comes through his daughter Kool Kitty, the second dam of Champion Kool Kue Baby.
Velox Bar was a well-bred runner, sired by the then leading sire and legend Three Bars. Jodie Echols was a successful producer in the early years of the All American Futurity with three of her foals qualifying for the famous race. The other two All American qualifiers were Win I Will and Three Cookies. Sid Vail, the owner of Three Bars, bred Velox Bar. Velox Bar is our first indication of how the Gentry Brothers followed along like many successful breeders by buying and breeding to well-bred horses from important breeders—a trend that continues to this day. It also pinpoints the role of the mare in their quest to breed good racehorses.
Jodie Echols was just the first in a line of mares that came into the Gentry broodmare band and became notable producers. Cute Kiss is one of those well-bred mares that had a major impact on the Gentry Brothers. She was bought in 1971 after running eighth in the 1969 All American Futurity.
Cute Kiss was a daughter of three-time AQHA World Champion Go Man Go and out of Cute Trick by Be Sure Now TB. Cute
Fredricksburg wins the 2005 Classic Chevrolet Handicap at Lone Star Park, and is named the Champion Aged Stallion that same year.
Trick was the 1956 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly. The Gentrys bred Cute Kiss to 1969 World Champion Easy Jet and got Easy Kiss. Easy Kiss won $101,022 on the racetrack and six of 21 starts, though she was not a stakes winner or stakes placed.
Easy Kiss became a major producer for the Gentrys. Of her seven foals, all were ROM including her leading performer Such An
Easy Effort. A Special Effort daughter, Such
An Easy Effort won the Denim N Diamonds Futurity-G1 in track record time; the La Primera Del Ano Derby-G1; the QHBC Distaff Classic-G1; the Sunland Park Fall Derby-G3 and the Jess Burner Memorial Handicap. Such An Easy Effort raced under the ownership of Robert Gentry.
When asked why the Gentry horses were raced under different names, Kirk responded, “A lot of that was how each state is different in their rules and what names people can run their horses under. The horses were all bred by the Gentry Brothers but ran under Robert Gentry so they didn’t have to get two racing licenses. It was just simpler to do it that way.”
Such An Easy Effort became the mother of 18 foals with 17 starters earning 16 ROM. Two were stakes winners and three were stakes-placed runners. Her leading money earner was Deelish, born in 1996. Deelish was the 1998 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly and the 2000 Champion Aged Mare. Sired by First Down Dash, Deelish was bred by the Gentry Brothers and raced under Robert’s name.
Deelish has become a producer in her own right. She is the dam of Deeheiress, by Mr
Jess Perry. Deeheiress won the Miss Princess Handicap-G1 and the Anaheim Handicap. Deeheiress is a successful producer as well. Her son, Rollickin Red, by the Thoroughbred Roll Hennessey Roll, was a contender for the 2012 AQHA Distance Champion title.
Fearless Freda, by Dash For Cash, was
the second foal out of Such An Easy Effort. Born in 1993, Fearless Freda won the Texas Classic Derby-G1, the QHBC Championship
2012 Champion Aged Mare Fredaville wins the Merial Los Alamitos Distaff Challenge.
Classic-G1 and the Retama Park Derby-G2, setting a 440-yard track record in that race of :21.44. Fearless Freda is the dam of Champion Aged Stallion Fredricksburg, Grade 3 stakes winner Dasha Freda, and Fredaville, who was just named the 2012 Champion Aged Mare.
When Deelish was on the racetrack one of her stablemates was the Gentry-bred Fodice, by First Down Dash and out of Zipp Zoro. Zipp Zoro was bought by the Gentry Brothers in 1983. She was a successful race mare, having won the West Texas Derby in 1980. She was sired by the Thoroughbred Zevi and out of Quincy Hop, by Deep Fathom. Zipp Zoro is now an AQHA Dam of Distinction with five stakes winners—Zoro Jet, Lazbuddie, Zip Dash, Fodice and Zipuino.
Fodice retired from the track to the Gentry breeding program. Her most notable runner to date is Fovee, winner of several stakes including the 2011 Mildred N. Vessels Memorial Handicap-G1 at Los Alamitos.
Fovee introduces us to the Gentry’s use
of Thoroughbred blood in the production of their Quarter running horses. Fovee’s sire is Cuvee, an established Thoroughbred stallion who has since moved from Kentucky and is now standing in Turkey. Gentry bred Fodice
to another Thoroughbred stallion named Scat Daddy, winner of the Florida Derby-G1 and the Thoroughbred industry’s leading freshman sire in 2011. That cross produced Scatmandu, who was fifth in the 2012 Rainbow Futurity-G1.
Kirk recalled how his father’s involvement with Thoroughbreds came about; “Dad got in the Thoroughbred part of it through friends like Johnny Jones and Mike Rutherford. (They) had been in the Quarter Horse business and had ventured off into the Thoroughbred business. Dad was with them and just got into it. It was his involvement with these men that lead to his buying the Thoroughbred farm in Kentucky.
“Dad and Mike Rutherford bought Syntariat as a yearling,” Kirk continued. “He was a son of Secretariat. I was pretty young when this happened so I don’t recall the exact
58 SPEEDHORSE, February 8, 2013
Los Alamitos
Lone Star Park
Los Alamitos