Page 134 - Speedhorse June 2020

RACING NEWS
Heritage Place Futurity-G1
SHOTT GUN
by John Moorehouse
Trainer Heath Taylor had two Heritage Place Futurity wins under his belt. This third time probably did feel charmed.
Taylor prepped underdog Shott Gun for a surprising result in the $826,260 Grade
1 stakes event held on May 30 as the 2020 Remington Park meet concluded. It was also arguably the biggest win for Taylor since he returned from suspension. The appeals and subsequent legal battle kept him out of the sport for about seven years.
Given the circumstances, Speedhorse asked Taylor if this futurity victory ranked higher than the other two. His reply?
“It was really important, and it was a really good feeling.” he said. “It was very satisfying. One, it’s a marquee race at a marquee racetrack. I have phenomenal respect for Remington Park ... and the Heritage Place Futurity has always been the marquee race. I can say that this one is, probably, as satisfying or felt as good as the first two. Or better.”
Taylor went into the race feeling pretty good about Shott Gun, even though odds- makers tabbed the gelding as a distant 17.5-1 contender. The gray gelding validated that confidence. He broke from the 7-post and got
stronger over the course of the 350-yard trip, running fourth at the first call and
a close second entering the stretch. Shott Gun overtook Aint She Tempting, the heavy pre-race favorite and fastest qualifier, and reached the fin- ish line first by a head.
Going into the race, Taylor said he had been quite impressed by both Aint She Tempting and the second- fastest qualifier, Instygator.
“I watched the races from all throughout the country that had been run up to this point. I thought those two horses looked as good as any two horses as I’d seen all year,” Taylor said.
And in this race, Shott Gun proved better than both of them. Rodrigo Vallejo was in the irons, as the gelding finished the race in :17.349, posting a 95 speed index.
“The horse was very focused warming up,” Vallejo said after the race through the transla- tion of Taylor. “He was very loose and relaxed. Very confident. In the gates he was really, really good. Didn’t leave in front, but every time he
hit the ground he got faster and faster. Really took off the last 100 yards.”
“I knew the challenge and task at hand was extremely tough,” Taylor said, adding, “It was very rewarding. The horse was able to persevere and win. It meant a lot.”
Shott Gun broke his maiden in the Heritage Place Futurity trials with the fastest qualifying time from the first
night of trials on May 8, winning his heat by 1/2-length.
Bobby Cox home-bred Shott Gun, who now has won 2 of his 3 starts and improved
his earnings to $356,099 with this $347,029 payday. Cox also home-bred Shott Gun’s dam, Eye Popping, a 2012 mare who has produced five starters, all winners, thus far among 10 off- spring. The brood includes Maybellina, a 2017 filly who holds five stakes victories in Mexico.
Taylor already had high hopes for Shott Gun, paying the gelding into lucrative futuri- ties across the country: the Rainbow, the Firecracker, the Dash For Cash, etc.
Remington Park $826,260 • 350 yards :17.349 • si 95
First Down Dash
Valiant Hero
Corona Chick
SHOTT GUN, ‘18-g.
Mr Eye Opener
Eye Popping
Shes Jess Special
132 SPEEDHORSE June 2020
Shott Gun and jockey Rodrigo Vallejo winning the $826,260 Heritage Place Futurity-G1 at Remington Park.
Dustin Orona Photography