Page 146 - Speedhorse December 2019

LQHBA Louisiana Million Night
LQHBA Louisiana Million Futurity-RG1
MARDI GRAS PAINT
By Michael Compton
Trainer Miguel Rodriguez has always held Mardi Gras Paint in high regard. Owned by Jose Alfonso Ramos, the two-year-old gelded son of Paint Me Perry justified
that faith, rewarding his connections with an impressive victory in the $1,000,000 LQHBA Louisiana Million Futurity-RG1 at Evangeline Downs on Dec. 7.
Ridden by Jorge Linares, Mardi Gras Paint broke from the five post and grabbed the lead at the start of the 400-yard event. He never looked back. Mardi Gras Paint dueled through the lane with No Freight and jockey Benito Baca, surging clear of that rival in the late stages to score by a 1/2-length at the finish. Mardi Gras Paint received every call and stopped the timer in :19.606, earning a 97 speed index in the initial stakes win of his career.
With the win in Louisiana’s richest Quarter Horse race, Mardi Gras Paint
improved his record to 7-3-1-0, and the $445,000 winner’s share of the lucrative purse increased his bankroll to $464,125.
“It’s very special to win a race like this with him,” said trainer
Miguel Rodriguez, who
selected Mardi Gras Paint
as a yearling for Ramos
for $9,500 at the LQHBA Yearling Sale. “He was a balanced horse, well pro- portioned. Not big and not small, nicely made.
“There was some action
at the gate, but he is always
so well behaved, and he
handled it well,” Rodriguez
continued. “He broke
first and led the whole
race. He ran a perfect race. It was a great performance.”
Rodriguez oversaw Mardi Gras Paint’s early training and had him ready for his career debut in Feb. Following a fourth- place finish in his third career start, Mardi
Gras Paint came down with a lung infection that forced him to the sidelines.
Rodriguez gave his charge ample time to recover and brought him back to the races in late summer.
Mardi Gras Paint fin- ished fourth in a maiden event at Fair Grounds
on Aug. 31 and has been unbeatable since. The brown gelding broke his maiden in his next start at
Evangeline on Oct. 3 before leading wire- to-wire in his Nov. 15 trial for the LQHBA
Evangeline Downs $1,000,000 • 400 yards :19.606 • si 97
PYC Paint Your Wagon
Paint Me Perry
Baby Perry
MARDI GRAS PAINT, ‘17-g
Royal Quick Dash
Summertime Dash
Summertime High
Mardi Gras Paint and jockey Jorge Linares win the $1,000,000 LQHBA Louisiana Million Futurity by 1/2-length.
142 SPEEDHORSE, December 2019
Coady Photography