Page 217 - February 2021

MJ Farms bred Wente out of Champion Astica, who won nine races from 14 starts, five of which were stakes victories. She has produced seven winners from eight starters. Wente is her first stakes winner.
“I can’t stress enough the effect that jockey Sergio Becerra Jr. has had on this horse,” said trainer Eric Valenzuela. “Sergio shows up day after day and puts in the hard work.
“When the money is on the line, he’s tough as they come. We had a little trouble in the gates with Wente when he was two. We put him in a rig and he didn’t like that. We took the rig off and put in the extra work to get him to settle in there and that work paid off. I knew if we broke good, we had a good chance,” he continued. “He got away good and halfway down the lane, they coasted then finished strong. This horse is a little anxious in the stall, he likes company. That’s where my team comes in. They will sit with him and keep him quiet. I knew we were in good shape the morning of the race because he had a calm quiet morning. He pulled up good after the race so we are excited about his future. I’d like to give credit to the owners for giving this horse time to come into himself.”
“Wente was a $36,000 purchase at the Heritage Place sale,” said co-owner Jimmy Vasquez. “His siblings went for about $150,000 this year. We have a great team, starting with the horse breaker back at the ranch. We had a little trouble with this horse in the gates when he was two. We had to back off and give him a chance
to figure things out. He is starting to mature so we are looking down the road to the Mountain Top Derby, the Albuquerque Derby and if he still looks good, the All American Derby.”
The Calling (Big Daddy Cartel-Fine Wines) won his trial heat and had the fifth fastest qualifying time from the trials. In the finals he ran a gritty race to bank second place money under Mario Delgado for owner Javier M. Chavez and trainer James J. Gonzales III.
Eighth fastest qualifier JC New Dawn (Woodbridge-Fly Stolis Chick) and jockey Daniel
Torres made a late run in the finals to pocket third place money for owners Federico Gonzalez and Telma Meraz. Edgar Moreno is in charge of conditioning. Daniel Torres was in the saddle.
Wish Bigg (Big Daddy Cartel-Wish You Had One To), Flashin Fire (First Moonflash-Episode Of Fire), River Flash (Chicks Regard-Riverside Flash), Holland Rock (Rock Solid Jess-Holland Fire), Z Ya (First Moonflash-Zoobie Cartel), Antinori (Big Daddy Cartel-Miss Totts) and Renika (Big Daddy Cartel-Woodys Allstar) completed the order of finish.
RACING NEWS
Wente’s winning connections include owners Scott Branson & Jimmy Vasquez, trainer Eric Valenzuela and jockey Sergio Becerra Jr.
Jockey Sergio Becerra Jr. & Wente are escorted to the winner’s circle.
SPEEDHORSE February 2022 215
Coady Photography Coady Photography