Page 137 - November 2020

RACING NEWS
A Double Corona’s winning connections include owners/breeders Tommy Hays DVM and Bobby J. Barrett, trainer Jose Luis Sanchez III and jockey Eddie Sanchez.
pretty much all his mares to him for the last three years. Now it’s kind of paying off.”
“We’re neighbors of Dr. Hays, live five minutes away,” Barnett said. “I was born and raised in Austin, but moved to Elgin about 25 years ago. We’ve always had horses, and we got into horse racing because we met a local veterinarian who was first- class. Instead of checking schools, I checked vets, and I could see that Elgin was a good place to be. Dr. Hays is a great vet and a great partner.”
Because of meetings in Salado and a heavy schedule of surgeries on horses at his practice in Elgin, including one for a broken leg, Hays was not at the track for A Double Corona’s win.
“Every year, in January and February, I look at weanlings,” Hays said. “I x-ray a lot of them, just to make sure they don’t have problems or if we need to get them cleaned up. I’m fortunate that I get to see a lot of good ones, and when I do see a good one, the light comes on. The first time I saw this one, I said, “Holy-moly Bobby, this one looks like the ‘perfect’ horse. He had the nice head, the pencil neck, the big hip, the right body, just a really special animal. I told him this one is going to run – there’s no doubt when one that looks like that, although it all comes down to health and
soundness. So, he asked me if I wanted to partner on him, and I said, “Yeah, you bet.’”
So here they are.
“The little horse was perfect – broke sharp and ran perfect,” jockey Sanchez said. “I didn’t have to ride him all that hard. He did it all by himself. I’m telling you, this one he can be some- thing big, if he wants to, if he decides to run.”
A Double Corona is to get to decide in the Nov. 20 trials to the LQHBA Louisiana Million Futurity-RG1, a 400-yard test slated for the meet’s closing night on Dec. 19.
Fastest qualifier Sheza Freighttrain T (Freighttrain B-Cloning Around) finished second under Rolando Pina for owner Patrick Richardson and trainer Eric Long. The filly won the Lassie Futurity-G2 earlier this year.
Mo Racing’s Fast Dashin Diamond (Heza Fast Dash-Diamonds R Forever B) finished third. The Kenneth Roberts Sr.’s trainee had David Alvarez in the irons.
A Political Rose (Apollitical Blood- Chicadee Rose), TDZ Rolex Rattler (Freighttrain B-Rolex Time), JRS Shiney Tee (Tee Cos-Arrangel To Shine), Fast Dash Group (Heza Fast Dash-Rita Regent), Tee Zo (Tee Cos-Sayin The Blues), Carter Winnin Edge (Carters Cartel-Streakin
The Edge) and Apolitical Ivory (Apollitical Blood-Wanna Be Ivory) completed the order of finish.
Jockey Eddie Sanchez returns after the victory.
SPEEDHORSE November 2020 135
Coady Photography Coady Photography