Page 48 - January 6 2012

Hialeah lassie Futurity
SHEZ JESS DynAMitE
by Stacy Pigott
Shes Jess Dynamite started her career rather slowly in 2011, but after a mid-summer break the filly simply exploded, notching
four straight wins including her latest in the $186,220 Hialeah Lassie Futurity on Dec. 26. Trainer Joe Manucy got Shes Jess Dynamite late in the year from friend and fellow trainer Toby Keeton. At Lone Star Park, Keeton had run the filly
twice, breaking her maiden on Oct. 8 and then winning an allowance on Nov. 3.
“I told (Toby) I was going to make a run on Florida this year and give it a try and he told me he had a filly to go down there that was pretty nice,” said Manucy, who pri- marily trains in Louisiana.
“He told me what he
was doing with her and we
followed a lot of his program.
I don’t get all the credit for
this. Toby trusted me and the owners went along with it based on what Toby told them. They went on faith, and I appreciate them giv- ing me the opportunity.”
Manucy’s first start with Shes Jess Dynamite was in the Lassie Futurity tri- als. The filly won by a neck, setting the top
qualifying time of :19.556 for the finals.
“In the trials she kind of stumbled leaving
there, and we were expecting the same thing in the finals, but it didn’t happen,” said jockey Patrick Watson, who rode Shes Jess Dynamite to her first stakes win in the Lassie.
“In the finals, the six horse and the four horse ran up to her three different times,
thinking they could get by her,” Watson continued. “Every time they ran up on her, she just got faster and
put a neck or a half-side on them and held them off. She doesn’t waste any motion. She went just fast enough to get the job done.”
Shes Jess Dynamite trailed only early leader Eyema Special Candy out of the gates, and held off challenges from that rival and Wave Corona to win the Lassie by a
neck in :19.549. She earned $78,212 for owners Gene White, Wayne and Kate Metcalfe, and Jerry and H.R. Heydenreich.
Shes Jess Dynamite was a $37,000 purchase at the 2010 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale from breeder Bobby Cox. Shes Jess Dynamite is
the fourth stakes winner for her dam, the
stakes-winning Mr Jess Perry mare Shes Jess Special. The mare’s other stakes winners include White Or Wrong, who won the All American Juvenile, Bye Bye Jess, and Jess Courageous. Shes Jess Special has also pro- duced multiple Grade 1 finalist Forest Park. Shes Jess Dynamite is from the first crop of Champion FDD Dynasty.
“This filly has a different attitude,” Manucy said. “You don’t force her to do any- thing she doesn’t want to do.
“My cousin, James Manucy, he’s the one that grooms her and takes care of her. Toby told him when she came here that he had to take his time with her. (James) does all the work with her and plays with her and keeps her attitude happy. They get along a lot better than me and her get along,” Manucy added with a laugh.
The Lassie Futurity win was extra special for Manucy, who is originally from St. Augustine, Florida.
“This is home for me,” Manucy said. “My dad ran at Pompano Park for years. It was really special to win a race in Florida because
I didn’t think I’d ever get to run a Quarter Horse in Florida and win a stakes race with my whole family here to watch.”
Manucy, who also won the Mockingbird Stakes with Ocean Potion the weekend before the Lassie, will get another chance at the winner’s circle with Shes Jess Dynamite. The connections are considering paying her late into the South Florida Derby, which has trials on Feb. 4.
Finishing second in the Lassie Futurity was Eyema Special Candy (Oak Tree Special- Eye On This Candy). Berkley Packer rode for trainer Stacy Charette-Hill. Ray Allen Smart owns the filly, who racked up her fourth stakes-placing with this runner-up effort.
In third was Wave Corona (Wave Carver- Corona With Ice), who races for owner-breeder Nancy McCoy. Charlton Hunt trains Wave Corona, who was making her first stakes appearance in the Lassie.
The remaining order of finish was Deer
Oh Deer (Tres Seis-Adorable Deer), Ima Gator Fan (City Place-TB-Ima Special Rose), Edge Em Out (Chicks Regard-Eagles Edge), Feature Me On TVG (Feature Mr Jess-Joy Of Six), Coronas Blushin (Coronas Prospect-Sweet Blushin Memory), Special Awards (Winning Awards-Special Ignition), and Fly Kate Fly (Fly Jess Fly-Toast To Kate).
Hialeah Park $186,220 • 400 yards :19.549 • si 94
First Down Dash
FDD Dynasty
Dinastia Toll BRZ
SHES JESS DYNAMITE, f.
Mr Jess Perry
Shes Jess Special
Special Balance
Fastest qualifier Shes Jess Dynamite returned to win the Hialeah Lassie Futurity by a neck on Dec. 26.
46 SPEEDHORSE, January 6, 2012
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