Page 167 - October 2023

Visa’s winning connections include owners Simmons Racing, Wootan Racing and Roger Beasley, trainer Toby Keeton and jockey Bryan Candanosa.
“He had a lot of trouble the first part of the race; he overcame that,” Wootan said. “He got knocked sideways pretty much. They knocked him into a horse.”
Trained by Toby Keeton, Visa has plenty of potential for the future.
“He’s really fast—we thought he’d qualify for the Rainbow and the All American,” Wootan said. “He ran all over the track, and they finally figured out that he does not like the whip. Every time he would whip him a little bit, he would jump two lanes.”
Visa won his Rainbow Futurity-G1 trial, but did not qualify. He ran second by a neck to Corner Pocket 123 in his All American trial. Corner Pocket 123 qualified, but Visa did not.
“He was flying at the end like he was in the Juvenile,” Wootan said. “We’ve got a lot of hope for him.”
Wootan and Beasley acquired Visa after he didn’t sell at a sale as a yearling.
“John Simmons bred him,” Wootan said. “I was sitting there talking to John during the sale, and I said, ‘What are you going to do with that horse?’ He said, ‘I got somebody looking at him.’ I asked him what he wanted, and I suggested we partner on the horse. We made a deal right there.”
Simmons Racing bred Visa in Texas from the Thoroughbred mare Cashcheckorcharge, a daughter of Will Take Charge, the Thoroughbred Champion 3-Year-Old Male of 2013. Cashcheckorcharge won the 6-furlong Chaves County Stakes in 2019 at Zia Park. Visa is her first starter.
With that Thoroughbred blood on the bottom side of the pedigree, Wootan thinks Visa will con- tinue to appreciate 440 yards.
Beasley is also a partner on a Thoroughbred named Practical Move, who won this year’s Santa Anita Derby-G1. Practical Move was scheduled to
run in the Kentucky Derby-G1, but he got sick not long before the race and had to be scratched. Wootan said that he and Beasley were on the plane to go to Kentucky for the race when they got the news.
“We went on to the Kentucky Derby and tried to enjoy it,” Wootan said. “But it wasn’t the same.”
They enjoyed the All American Derby and Juvenile a lot more.
A Political Cluster (Apollitical Jess-Cluster Of Stars TB) finished second for jockey Noe Garcia Jr. Fred Danley trains the filly for owner J and SM Inc. A Political Cluster broke her maiden at Ruidoso July 29 in her fourth start.
La Feliz Montana Ranch’s homebred Lethalcartelfavorite (Favorite Cartel-Lethal Lil) ran third. Rodrigo Vallejo piloted the colt for trainer Xavier Rodriguez. Lethalcartelfavorite in four previ- ous races had two wins, a second, and a third.
Completing the field were KJ Flying Cowgirl (Flying Cowboy 123-KJ Hotflash), Six Famous Eagles (One Famous Eagle-Sixy Silhouette), Sandy Rose (Tempting Dash-CC Seis), Shoeless (FDD Dynasty-Political Chick), Irish Seis (Tres Seis-Sassy Irish Lassie), KJ Little Duce Coup (Apollitical Jess-Xquizit), and BP Down For A Corona (Corona Cartel-BP Down South). Crispyn was scratched.
Visa and Bryan Candanosa return to the winner’s circle.
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SPEEDHORSE October 2023 165
Susan Bachelor, Speedhorse Susan Bachelor, Speedhorse