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Hallmarke’s owner Laney Fowler, trainer Justin Powell and jockey Gilbert Ortiz are joined by Revolutionary Racing Kentucky directors and leaders of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.
“They offered these huge bonuses for the most starts for trainers,” Fowler explained. “Leading trainer also gets a big bonus. Every owner got a $500 bonus just for a start, so last place in a race is going to get $500 regardless. They also gave the trainers $200 for every horse in the entry box who then started. It is a gamble to come this far, but the owners were game for it.”
Fowler said that the overall purses were also good and that the management treated every- one extremely well.
Bobby Cox bred Hallmarke in Texas, and raced her twice before selling her to Fowler
for $17,000 at the 2022 Heritage Place Winter Mixed Sale. For Fowler, Hallmarke is now on a 5-race winning streak that began in December.
“I’d never had anything to do with race- horses,” Fowler said. “I’ve rodeoed and run barrels my whole life. I went to college on a rodeo scholarship and have done amateur and pro rodeo.”
She and Powell attended that Heritage Place sale so that Fowler could buy a horse that an owner of Powell’s was selling. But Fowler knew that Duponte, the sire of Hallmarke, was paid into barrel incentive programs, and she bought Hallmarke and another offspring of that stallion.
Fowler initially wanted to make both of them into barrel horses following their racing careers. She not only liked Hallmarke’s sire, but also the filly’s maternal grandsire First Down Dash.
“Barrel racers like First Down Dash, so I thought I couldn’t go wrong there,” Fowler said. But Hallmarke is doing so well that she will
likely become a broodmare for Fowler, who noted that “she has a forever home with me.”
Not only does Hallmarke have that Duponte/First Down Dash cross, the dam, the
Cox homebred Zenergy, has a pedigree and produce record that will add to Hallmarke’s broodmare potential. All nine of Zenergy’s starters have won, including multiple stakes winner Zenergetic, Mexican stakes winner Enthusiastique, and Vytaliti, who finished third in the 2022 Rainbow Oaks-G1. In addi- tion, Zenergy is a 1/2-sister to Sinuous, the dam of World Champion Whistle Stop Cafe.
Meanwhile, Hallmarke can add to her racing record. Fowler and Powell were considering send- ing her to Delta Downs for another stakes. And their experience at The Red Mile was so pleasant that they might return next year. Once Sandy Ridge completes its racetrack, Quarter Horse own- ers and trainers will have even more opportunities.
Larry Carter and John Myers bred second-place HH C J Shake (Escondido
Beach-Shakem Jake) and own the gelding in partnership with Rusty Hawkins and Bell. HH C J Shake, who was ridden by Cesar Esqueda and is trained by Shawna Martin, a multiple stakes winner at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
AJK Enthusiam (Mo Zoomo-Fetching Beauty), owned by Jose Chavez, trained by Sacramento Chavez, and ridden by Jose Ruiz, fin- ished third. The 6-year-old horse was coming off an allowance victory at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
Rounding out the field were Its the Whiskey (Coronado Cartel-Takin On Smashingly),
Im A Fancee Chik (Im A Fancy PYC-Dixie Marrone-TB), Dancers Pass (Apollitical Jess- Scared), Alota Lovin (Lota PYC-Ms Victorita), Jess Gimme A Kiss (Kiss My Hocks-Perrys Dreamgirl), and Abe (Jazz Be First-Magics Born Illusion). Rarin was scratched.
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