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RACING NEWS
Jim Bader Futurity
PL PEARL HARBOR
by John Moorehouse
Tom Lepic couldn’t be happier about the way PL Pearl Harbor closed out his rookie season. The two-year-old bay gelding did so by win- ning his first stakes race, going gate-to-wire in the $137,500 Jim Bader Futurity held at Prairie Meadows on Sept. 26.
“Hopefully he’ll get some good rest this winter and get back as a nice three year old,” said Lepic, who home-bred the gelding and banked a $61,876 payday that
improved his total earnings to
$89,589. “He’s been an amaz-
ing two year old.”
Lepic notes his promis- ing young gelding was at less than full health for his previous two outs.
“He had an injury this year, hauling from Oklahoma to Iowa,” Lepic noted. “He broke a bone in his jaw.”
Lepic credited trainer Stacy Charrette-Hill for “an
Altoona Derby
outstanding job with him, getting him through the injury, getting him healed up and getting him ready for the finals. She was patient and took care of him. She told me before the race he was going to run a big race, and she was right.”
Indeed. PL Pearl Harbor broke on top from the 6-post and led at every call of the 350 yards. The gelding hit the wire first by a 1/2-length.
Ridden by Jorge Torres, PL Pearl Harbor finished the race in :18.027,
logging an 83 speed index. Lepic praised Charrette-Hill
and her husband, Randy Hill. “His first work at
Remington Park, I think he was the third-fastest horse out of about 170 that ran that day,” Lepic noted. “They called that day and said, ‘well, just exactly what we thought. This is a special horse.’”
Lepic bred PL Pearl Harbor out of lightly raced For Your
First Lady. The gelding is her first winner from three starters.
CR Appollitical Joe (Apollitical Jess-LW Evening Lajolla), who had a three-race win streak snapped, is owned by Richard and Curt Tobin. The Jason Olmstead trainee had Berkley Packer in the irons. Appollitical Hawkeye (Apollitical Jess-Cartels Belle) placed third for owner Paul Tonderum and trainer Alex Wessels. Cristian Esqueda drew the riding assignment.
The remaining order of finish was
DF Fabulous Flare (One Fabulous Eagle- Nothinlikelovin), West Crest Offense (Carters Cartel-West Crest Dance), Rylees Rocket (Sir Runaway Dash-Ja Zoomin Herenthere),
Class N Attitude (Volcom-Hiclass Attitude), Elbullseye (Lil Kool Wagon-Bayou Now) and My Party Girl (WSagon Tales-Countessa Run). Cartel Prince was scratched.
in July and as a juvenile last year qualified for the Golden State Million Futurity-G1.
A Valiant Diamond (One Valiant Hero-Sixy Chamisa) held third for owner C.A. Cofer and trainer Patrick Swan. The filly was the fastest qualifier after winning her trial. At two, she captured the Mystic Lake Northlands Juvenile at Canterbury and qualified for the Gopher State Futurity and the Valley Junction Futurity-G3.
In 4th was Dream Dynasty (FDD Dynasty- Dream Ride) & in 5th was VF Politics N Chicks (Apollitical Jess-Dashin Chick). In a dead-heat for 6th were Favorit Shake (Favorite Cartel-Jess Shakem) & Tipsy Girl B (Hes Relentless-Devil Wears Prada B), followed
by Southern Sunshine (PYC Paint Your Wagon-Marys Southernpolicy), DF Tempting Cartel (Favorite Cartel-Kool Baby Ruth), and Undrafted (Lota PYC-The Pampered Side).
Prairie Meadows
$137,500 • 350 yards :18.027 • si 83
Corona Cartel
PYC Paint Your Wagon
Dashin Follies
PL PEARL HARBOR, ‘18-g. First Down Dash
For Your First Lady
Feature For You
SOUTHARD QUEEN
by Michael Compton
Southard Queen registered the third stakes win of her career with a facile score in the $133,790 Altoona Derby at Prairie Meadows on Sept. 25.
Dismissed at odds of 8-1, Southard Queen broke on top in the 400-yard test and dueled for early supremacy under Berkley Packer. She grabbed the lead again in the lane and kicked 1-length clear of early leader A Valiant Diamond. With race favorite Budderlicous giving game chase, Southard
Queen had plenty in reserve to stave off the challenge and scored by one length in near wire-to-wire fashion. Budderlicous and jockey Jonathan Dominguez got up for second and A Valiant Diamond and Christian Esqueda held third.
Trained by Jason Olmstead, Southard Queen stopped the timer in :19.961, earning an 89 speed index.
Owned and bred Jo Rice, Southard Queen
was the 5th-fastest qualifier for the main event from 3 trial heats on Sept. 11. This victory improved her overall record to 14-6(3)-0-4
and the $53,516 winner’s share of the purse increased her bankroll to $219,890. Her addi- tional stakes wins came in the Iowa Double Gold Derby in July and the Valley Junction Futurity-G3 last year, both at Prairie Meadows.
Rice bred Southard Queen out of winner Southard Style Lady. She has produced 100% money earn-
ers from nine starters. Runner-up Budderlicous
(Corona Cartel-Budder Think Twice), the 2nd-fastest qualifier after winning his trial, bobbled at the start of the feature and rallied strongly in the lane to secure the place spot for own- ers Crestina Flores and Cesar Nunez and trainer Julio Corral. The gelding finished second
in the Rocky Mountain Derby
Prairie Meadows
$133,790 • 400 yards :19.961 • si 89
Corona Cartel
Coronado Cartel
First Carolina
SOUTHARD QUEEN, ‘17-f. Strawfly Special
Southard Style Lady
Lady Mara
146 SPEEDHORSE October 2020
Coady Photography Coady Photography