Page 52 - Speedhorse September 2017

QUALIFIERS TO THE 2017 GRADE 1, $1,365,907
All American
Derby
by Stacy Pigott • photos by Linda Earley
As often is the case, weather ruled the mountain during the All American Futurity and Derby trials at Ruidoso Downs. The qualifying heats for the Derby were held on Sunday, Aug. 20, and weather conditions were extremely variable. Four different horses rotated through the top spot before Hold Air Hostage found himself there to stay at the end.
Three sets of trainer/jockey combinations were extremely hot during the All American Derby trials, with each qualifying two horses to the finals. Trainer James Padgett II and jockey Rodrigo Vallejo teamed up with the two fastest qualifiers – Hold Air Hostage and Duponte. Padgett and Vallejo also qualified two horses to the All American Futurity.
Third-fastest qualifier De La Eagle and 10th-fastest qualifier Magestic Eagle were trained and ridden by Juan M. Gonzalez and Tanner Thedford, respectively. The final duo that found multiple success in the Derby trials was com- prised of conditioner Trey Wood and rider Ricky Ramirez, who qualified One Sweet Racy and Myst Fit in the fifth and sixth spots.
The three year olds with the 10-fastest times qualified for Grade 1, $1,365,907 All American Derby and the horses with the next 10-fastest times are eligible for the $100,000 First Down Dash Stakes. Each of those races is on Sept. 3. The All American Derby winner receives an invi- tation to the $750,000 Champion of Champions over 440 yards at Los Alamitos Race Course on December 16.
August 21
:21.109 Hold Air Hostage, g, (Apollitical Jess-Fols Zookie Cookie, Fols Gold)
Darling Farms/James B Padgett II/Rodrigo Vallejo
:21.441 Duponte, c, (American Runaway-Havanah Goodtime, Ivory James)
Bobby D Cox & Homero and Kristen Ashley Paredes/James Padgett II/Rodrigo Vallejo
:21.444 De La Eagle, g, (One Famous Eagle-La Reina De La Noche, First Down Dash) Cream Of The Crop Inc/Juan M Gonzalez/Tanner Thedford
:21.501 The Marfa Lights, c, (One Famous Eagle-Your First Moon, First Down Dash) Beth & Michael Harper/Jose Cruz Villafranco/Larry D Payne
:21.509 One Sweet Racy, f, (One Sweet Jess-Miss Racy Vike, Racin Free) Johnny Trotter/Trey Wood/Ricky Ramirez
:21.561 Myst Fit, g, (Separatist-Mystifying, Mr Jess Perry)
Newman Cattle Company & Bobby Simmons/Trey Wood/Ricky Ramirez
:21.624 Machismo Moon, g, (Heza Motor Scooter-Machi Moon, Dash Ta Fame) Ramon & Joe Alavarez and Ysabel Medrano/Seth Ferguson/Mauro Salcedo
:21.626 Bellissima Chocolata, f, (Valiant Hero-Heartswideopen, Feature Mr Jess) Joel A Valeriano, La Feliz Montana Ranch LLC
& Jose J Espinoza/Pedro A Lopez/Jose Montoya
:21.626 Elicity, f, (Apollitical Jess-Flame N Flash, Walk Thru Fire) Papas Place LLC/Juan G Aleman/Esgar Ramirez
:21.646 *Magestic Eagle, g, (One Famous Eagle-Catalina Fantasy, First Down Dash) Victor Diaz/Juan M Gonzalez/Tanner Thedford
*Won Shake
50 SPEEDHORSE, September 20146