Page 60 - 22 March 2013

West Texas Maturity-G2
TF FEATURED EFFORT
by Michael Compton
Prior to the West Texas Maturity-G2 at Sunland Park, TF Featured Effort had been plagued by troubled starts in his previous four
outings. With the problematic beginnings behind him, the 4-year-old son of Feature Mr Jess made short work of a competitive field in the 26th run- ning of the $95,423 Maturity on March 2.
Piloted by Alonso Rivera, TF Featured Effort broke second from the gates,
but quickly assumed com-
mand in the 400-yard fixture.
Despite drifting in through the lane, he proved much
the best, hitting the wire 1 1/4-lengths clear of runner-up and race favorite Jess Cuervo. TF Featured Effort stopped the timer in :18.925, just ticks off Double Down Special’s track record of :18.613 set
in 2010. TF Featured Effort earned a speed index of 97 for his brisk clocking.
Bred in Louisiana by Tate Farms, TF Featured Effort, the third-fastest qualifier for the race, is owned and conditioned by Jaime Dominguez of Peyton, Colorado. With the victory, TF Featured Effort accomplished a rare double of his own, having also annexed last year’s West Texas Derby-G3 at Sunland Park. The win improved his record to five wins
from 17 starts and boosted his bankroll to $191,341.
TF Featured Effort is out of Meadow Creeks Effort, who has also produced Le Magnifique FG, winner of the 2001 Remington Park Futurity-G1 and an earner of $170,637, as well as stakes- placed Marioette.
Jess Cuervo, the 6-5 Maturity favorite, put in a mild bid to finish second, edging third-place finisher Our First Corona by a head.
Jess Cuervo (Corona Cartel-Jessica Ravin), with Esgar Ramirez in the irons, races in the colors of Anna Crowson and was saddled by Victor Rodriguez-Flores, who sent out three Maturity runners. Our First Corona (Corona Cartel-Hawk Three), winner of the 2012 Sunland Winter Quarter Horse Derby, was ridden by L. Martinez. The 4-year-old gelding is owned by Kevin and Robin Allred and is trained by Michael Joiner.
The remaining order was The Redd Zone (First Down Dash-Wagons Maiden), Tres
Seis Nueve (Tres Seis-Ya Ya Sisterhood), Jump Down Azoom (Azoom-Jump Down First), First Corona Call (Southern Corona-Be a First Call), Bugsy B (Ocean Runaway-Sixarun Bug) and Rabbit Revival (Rabbits Rainbow-French Revival). Really A Fantasy (First Down Dash- Fishers Fantasy) was a stewards’ scratch.
Sunland Park

Mr Jess Perry
Feature Mr Jess
Brenda Feature
TF FEATURED EFFORT, ‘09-c.
Mr Jess Perry
Meadow Creeks Effort
Meadow Creek Dancer
RACING NEWS
Mesilla Valley Speed Handicap-RG2
BET ON BALLOU
by Tracy Gantz
Don’t ever count out the old guys. Bet On Ballou, the oldest horse in the field for the March 10 Mesilla Valley Speed Handicap-RG2
at Sunland Park, became a stakes winner for the first time at the age of 8 in his first ever stakes attempt.
Bet On Ballou bobbled a bit at the start, coming out third from post nine. Sandys Jesse took the lead on the rail, but Bet On Ballou and Stel Gone Corona on
the extreme outside moved
as a team to carve into that
advantage. Stel Gone Corona
never got past Bet On
Ballou, who took the lead
near the wire. Bet On Ballou
and jockey Jaime Leos scored
a neck victory over Stel Gone
Corona in :17.065, with
Sandys Jesse another neck
back in third.
Wesley Giles trains Bet On Ballou for Quarter
Circle W Bar LLC. The gelding did not start racing until late in his 4-year-old season in 2009. Until his first stakes appearance, he had made a useful living in the New Mexico claiming and allowance ranks, having won nine of 21 races for $138,705. He added another $51,000 to his bankroll with the Mesilla Valley victory.
Carl Dahl bred Bet On Ballou in New Mexico, from unraced Ballou
Thirty Two. The mare has produced four winners from five starters.
Manuel Gutierrez piloted Stel Gone Corona (Stel Corona-Meter Her Gone) to second for owner Veronica Ramirez and trainer Ramon Ochoa. The 5-year-old gelding won the 2011 New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Association Stakes-RG2 at Sunland and the 2012 New
Mexico Breeders Championship-RG3 at Albuquerque.
Sandys Jesse (Jesse James Jr-Sandys Fame) ran third for jockey Tanner Thedford. Alonso Orozco trains the 3-year-old filly for owner Chin Lee. Sandys Jesse was coming off a victory in the Feb. 17 New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Association Stakes-RG2.
Favored Here Kittykittykitty (Genuine Strawfly-One Diamond Cat), the 2012 Mesilla Valley winner, finished fourth, followed by RCJ Major Storm (Brookstone Bay-Major Kia), Erasmus B Dragon (Stel Corona-
Lady Lucchese), Klassic Strawfly (Genuine Strawfly-A Classic Song), Untangled Vines (Jesse James Jr-Tangled Vines), Little Coronas Bits (Southern Corona-Averys Little Bit), and My Big Chief (Get Down Perry-Majorly Easy). Karolina and Reckless Wind were scratched.
Sunland Park

Strawfly Special
Sum Fun To Bet
Down With Debt
BET ON BALLOU, ’05-g.
Strait To The Bank
Ballou Thirty Two
Win So Easy
58 SPEEDHORSE, March 22, 2013
Coady Photography Coady Photography