Page 88 - NMHBA_Winter2022

DOWNS AT ALBUQUERQUE
O.D. McDonald Stakes (R)
Photos by Coady Photography
Fusaichi Zenon
Sunday Silence
Elizabeth Rose
Strawberry Pet
Petionville
Strawberry Runner
STRAWBERRY WHISKY
Strawberry Whisky, a 5-year-old son of Fusaichi Zenon (JPN) owned and trained
by Celio E. Trujillo Jr., rallied to win the October 1, $100,000 O.D. McDonald Stakes (R) for New Mexico-bred Thoroughbreds at Albuquerque Downs.
Ridden by Aldo Arboleda and sent to post at odds of 8-1 in a field of 10, Strawberry Whisky covered 7 furlongs in 1:21.30, and his margin of victory was one length from 12-1 longshot Delbert Too. The dark bay or brown gelding banked $58,000 from his second career stakes score.
Strawberry Whisky was bred by Michael Weatherly. The gelding is one of five official black-type stakes winners from 99 starters sired by Fusaichi Zenon, a son of 1989 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner and Eclipse Award- winning Horse of the Year Sunday Silence
and a listed stakes winner in Japan in 2000.
A full brother to two multiple stakes winners in Japan, Fusaichi Zenon has sired the earners of more than $3.4 million from 16 crops, including multiple stakes winner Zenon’s Star and stakes winners Not My Note, Honshu City and Parklane Lass.
Fusaichi Zenon is owned by Armando Orozco Jr. and stands at Orozco Ranch at Sunland Park, New Mexico.
Strawberry Whisky is also one of six winners from as many starters produced by Strawberry Pet, a winning Kentucky-bred daughter of the
Seeking The Gold stallion Petionville. The gelding is a half-brother to Strawberry Bling, a son of Your Eminence who ran second in the 2015 Lincoln Handicap (R) at Ruidoso Downs.
Strawberry Whisky’s second dam, the winning Kentucky-bred Strawberry Road
(AUS) mare Strawberry Runner, foaled Princess Samala, a winning and stakes-placed half-sister
to Strawberry Pet. The gelding’s third dam, the Northern Prospect mare Norangle, won the 1988 Crocus Stakes at Garden State Park in New Jersey.
Strawberry Whisky traces back to his fourth dam, Double Angle, a winning and stakes- placed daughter of the Quadrangle stallion Angle Light who produced seven winners from seven starters, including Northern Dixie, a stakes-placed half-sister to Norangle.
Strawberry Whisky was coming off a neck victory at odds of 11-1 in a 6 1/2-furlong, $38,246 allowance race at Albuquerque Downs on August 28. Raced exclusively in New Mexico, the gelding has won five of 16 starts and has banked $190,085. He ended his 4-year-old season with an off-the-pace one-length victory
in the October 31, $100,000 New Mexico Cup Sprint Championship (R) at Zia Park.
No Pasa Nada, the 2-1 favorite, finished third, a head behind runner-up Delbert Too. Jet N G, One Mark, Storm Bayou, Half Court Sam, Cerveza, On A Warpath and Ancient Land completed the order of finish.
Delbert Too is a 4-year-old son of the Bernardini stallion Marking racing for Filiberto Quiroz, who claimed the bay gelding for $15,000 at Zia Park on November 16, 2021. A $25,000 yearling purchase by B4 Farms at the 2019 New Mexico-Bred Sale at Ruidoso Downs, Delbert Too has won five of 25 races -- including the January 30, $100,000 Jamison Memorial Handicap (R) at Sunland Park -- and the $20,000 runner-up share of the O.D. McDonald Stakes purse bumped his earnings to $333,236.
No Pasa Nada races for Christopher N. Roybal, who claimed the 6-year-old bay son of the Forest Wildcat stallion Attila’s Storm for $12,500 at Sunland Park on February 12, 2022. A full brother to multiple stakes winners Bella Dona and Tilla Cat, the gelding has won seven of 36 starts, including two stakes, and he has banked $357,759.
86 New Mexico Horse Breeder
Strawberry Whisky’s winning connections include owner/trainer Celio E. Trujillo Jr. and jockey Aldo Arboleda.