Page 62 - April 2016

Starting Strong
Call it beginner’s luck or call it divine intervention - buying Foxy Moonflash was an incredible blessing that quickly boosted Bobby and Catherine to a level they’d only dreamed of. In four outs her 2-year-old year, Foxy Moonflash (bred by Dosi and Norma Alvarez) won her trial to the Mountain Top Quarter Horse Futurity at Ruidoso, then took second by a neck in her Zia Futurity trial and sixth in the New Mexico Classic Futurity trial at Zia Park. “She was a pretty nice 2 year old,” says Sleepy.
“I didn’t know anything about being an owner that year, so I didn’t get her entered in the big futurities for her 2-year-old year,” Catherine says. “But, I did get her entered in the New Mexico-bred futurities in Ruidoso. She was really fast, but just didn’t have very good luck her 2-year-old year. I remember us walking into Sleepy’s barn at the end of that season and Bobby asking Sleepy what we were going to do with her. Sleepy said, ‘I’ll tell you what you aren’t going to do - give up on her!’”
His advice turned out to be spot on. “She matured and really got good as a 3
year old!” Sleepy says. On fire that year, she won five of seven races, including the New Mexico Quarter Horse Fillies and Mares Championship-G1. She beat all comers in both the trials and finals of the New Mexico Classic Derby-RG2 and also won the Lou Wooten/Sydney Valentini Handicap-RG2. After winning her trial, she took second in the final for the Zia Quarter Horse Derby at Ruidoso - won by her half-brother, Mighty Moonflash.
Foxy Moonflash ended her sophomore year as Bobby and Catherine’s first stakes winner and as the 2014 AQHA Champion 3-Year-Old Filly. “It was amazing,” says Bobby. “Our daughter competed in collegiate Division I track and our son ropes at the professional level, and our first stakes win was just like watching our kids compete and win.”
From Owners to Breeders
Bobby and Catherine also qualified their Johnny Trotter/Burnett Ranches-bred Bodacious Dash gelding, Sky Bo Dash, out of the Chicks Beduino daughter Sky Chicks, to both the Rainbow and the All American futurities in 2015. “He’s the same way (as Foxy Moonflash),” Sleepy says. “He didn’t start out so strong, but he’s really gotten good.”
And, they own Corona Surfer (Corona Cartel – Little Surfer, First Down Dash), who qualified to the Heritage Futurity in 2015. “I expect a big year out of that horse, too,” Sleepy says.
In addition to their roles as owners, Bobby and Catherine have assembled
an admirable band of mares to breed. Among their broodmares is Mr Jess Perry daughter Shez Jess Nice, out of First Down Dash mare A Lady Shes Not, whom they purchased from Debra Laney. They also bought Neons Miracle (Yawls Rabbit – Neon Rainbows, Ronas Ryon) from her, along with the mare’s 2014 baby Mitey
Bobby and Catherine Simmons, with daughter Ashley, trainer Sleepy Gilbreath, wife Joannie, and breeders Norma and Dosi Alvarez, are presented the award for 2014 AQHA Champion 3-Year-Old Filly
Foxy Moonflash
from AQHA’s Don Treadway
Man by First Moonflash, whom they’ll run this year.
Foxy Moonflash has also joined their broodmare band, foaling a 2016 Corona Cartel baby. “We feel like she did us such a good job and ran so well and had such a big heart, we wanted to breed her to
a quick-footed horse - one of the best stallions out there - so we can give her the best chance possible to be an amazing mom,” Bobby says.
The Why and How
Bobby and Catherine, who blended their families when they married and so far have one (4 year old) grandson, got into racing because it was something they could do together. “It’s a family-oriented sport, just like roping, and we enjoy the time we get
to spend with friends and family,” Bobby says. “I had friends who had racehorses, and racehorses are so graceful you can’t help but love them.”
Friend and breeder Debra Laney credits the couple’s ethics, research, attention to detail and care for their clients as the traits behind Bobby and Catherine’s success. “They think beyond what they themselves want to what
their clients might want,” she says. “For example, we went to their training facility last fall and they were just starting to build on more barns. If you know Bobby, you know that he’s not a big fan of dogs. As they were showing us around the facility, we walked around the corner and there was a dog kennel there. I started teasing him about why he’d need that and he said, ‘These are for people like you who
do like dogs.’ That’s even beyond detail
- beyond what he wants in facilities and trainers to what he can do for his clients.”
Debra also admires their commitment. “I think they want to compete at the highest level and are committed to that in the horses they breed and race,” she says. “They’re
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SPEEDHORSE, April 2016
Foxy Moonflash goes wire-to-wire winning the 2014 New Mexico Fillies & Mares Championship-G1 at Zia Park by 1-length