Page 82 - March_2022

““Faster Than Hasta has“ great versatility; he’s been
able to run any distance at
some point in his career.”
Stakes winner Patrick Rumbo, shown winning the Quarter Horse Derby at Central Wyoming Fairgrounds in 1990.
– Bob Johnson
At four, he won the Rocky Mountain AQHA Championship Bonus Challenge at Arapahoe, and at six he won the Covered Bridges Stakes-G3 at Prairie Meadows and ran second in the Sandia Stakes at Albuquerque. His final year on the track, he won the Energy Downs Distance Challenge and finished his track career with $245,742 and a 38-11-7-0 record.
Also, on Bob and Gary’s list of top runners is Patrick Rumbo,
by Easy Saint son Easy Rumbo and out of Cherrys Best Hope
by Boy O Boy. The 1987 gelding earned multiple Graded stakes winner status with 17 wins, five seconds and two thirds from 30 starts, winning $154,621 in his five-year racing career. His first year out, he ran fourth, then won six in a row, finished second in the Diamond Classic Futurity-G3, then won two more.
As a sophomore, he won the Canterbury Park Derby-G2 and repeated his freshman Diamond Classic win in the Grade 3 derby. At four he won the Red Earth Handicap at Remington Park, and the Canterbury Speed Handicap and Canterbury Championship-G2.
The 2010 Graded stakes placed gelding Hastabealeader (SI 112) showed his full brother Faster Than Hasta’s distance versatility. “He made money at 330s and then went on to run 870,” Bob says. His track career spanned eight years with 11 wins, 10 seconds and eight thirds from 41 outs. He won $119,605 taking firsts in his North Central QHRA Futurity trial, the Northern Plains Futurity and the Markel Stakes at two, then seconds in the Minnesota Stallion Breeders/North Central Derby trial, the Prairie Meadows Derby Challenge trial and the final at Fort Pierre. He also won his trial to the Les Bois Distance Challenge at 5, running second in the stakes, and was named 2016 Minnesota Year-End Distance Champion for his career efforts.
The 1973 foal Laughing Herbeta, by Laughing Boy and out of Cowgirl Shank by San Juan Bar, was Gary’s training claim to fame. “That mare won nine races as a 2 year old; she won four futurities in a row. That’s when [Gary] quit,” Bob said, smiling. She won 13 of 46 starts with eight seconds and four thirds, and $21,430 as a multiple stakes winner.
Laughing Herbeta shown winning the Land Of Lakes Futurity in 1975.
S S t t a a k k e e s s w w i i n n n n e e r r H H a a s s t t a a b b e e a a l l e e a a d d e e r r, , s s h h o o w w n n w w i i n n n n i i n n g g t t h h e e N N o o r r t t h h e e r r n n P P l l a a i i n n s s S S t t a a l l l l i i o o n n F Fu u t t u u r r i i t t y y i i n n 2 2 0 0 1 1 2 2 . .
80 SPEEDHORSE March 2022
Speedhorse Archives
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Coady Photography
Speedhorse Archives Courtesy Jodi Johnson