Page 121 - NM Winter 2023

THE DOWNS AT ALBUQUERQUE
Casey Darnell Handicap (R)
Photos by Coady Photography
King Bull
Holy Bull
Pookette
Last Danz
Danzatore
Misericordia Rose
TUCUM
Sent to post at odds of 16-1 in a field of 10 New Mexico-bred Thoroughbreds, Tucumcari Thoroughbreds LLC’s Tucum scored an upset victory in the September 16, $100,000 Casey Darnell Stakes (R) at Albuquerque Downs.
Tucum set fractions of :21.75 and :45.26 before reaching the wire in 1:03.20 for 5 1/2 furlongs. Luis H. Rodriguez rode the homebred 5-year-old King Bull gelding for trainer Simon Buechler.
Tucum is one of four stakes winners from 35 starters sired by King Bull, a winning Kentucky-bred 22-year-old son of 1994 Horse of the Year Holy Bull. Racing at Tampa Bay Downs in 2006, King Bull earned $14,095 from three starts.
King Bull has sired the earners of more than $1.7 million from 13 crops, including stakes winners Infinite Bull and K B’s Princess. A half-brother to 1995 Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) winner Talkin Man and stakes winner Royal Regalia, the stallion is owned by Gary Balzano and stands at Balzano’s farm at Tucumcari, New Mexico.
Tucum is also one of five winners from
six starters foaled by Last Danz, a winning New Mexico-bred daughter of the Northern Dancer stallion Danzatore who ran third in the 2004 Dessie and Fern Sawyer Futurity (R) at Albuquerque Downs. Last Danz produced K B’s Princess, a full sister to Tucum who won the 2012 C.O. “Ken” Kendrick Memorial Stakes (R) at SunRay Park, and K B’s Last
Danz, a full sister to Tucum who ran third in the 2014 New Mexico Cup Juvenile Fillies Stakes (R) at Zia Park.
Tucum’s second dam, the unplaced Spend A Buck mare Misericordia Rose, foaled two winners from three starters, including Tu Tone Devil, a stakes-placed full brother to Last Danz. The gelding’s third dam, the winning Quack mare Eastern Quack, produced three winners from five starters.
Tucum traces back to his fifth dam, Crowned Queen, a stakes-winning daughter of the Nearco (ITY) stallion Royal Charger. A 1962 foal, Crowned Queen foaled Crowned Music, a Group 2 winner in France in 1978, and stakes winner Tiltin Milton.
Raced in two states, including Texas, Tucum has won four of 21 starts -- including the 2021 New Mexico Cup Derby Championship Stakes (R) at Zia Park -- and the $58,000 winner’s share of the Casey Darnell Stakes purse increased his earnings to $206,461.
Strawberry Whisky finished second, 1 1/4 lengths behind Tucum. Sambas Mark, Delbert Too, Thruthestorm, 4-1 favorite No Pasa Nada, Bye Bye Matty P, Diabolical Storm, One Mark and Noname Bandit completed the order of finish.
A 6-year-old dark bay or brown son of
the Sunday Silence stallion Fusaichi Zenon (JPN), Strawberry Whisky races for Celio E. Trujillo Jr. The gelding has won six of 22 outs
-- including last year’s 7-furlong, $100,000 O.D. McDonald Stakes (R) at Albuquerque Downs -- and the $20,000 runner-up share of the Casey Darnell Stakes purse bumped his bankroll to $289,601.
Sambas Mark races for Norman W. Allen, Chuck Sonnenberg and Fincher Racing LLC. A 3-year-old son of the Bernardini stallion Marking, the bay gelding has won three of eight starts, and the $10,000 third-place share of the purse pushed his earnings to $99,330, of which $91,880 has been banked from six races this season.
Contested annually at Albuquerque Downs, the Casey Darnell Stakes honors the memory of longtime New Mexico-based horseman Clarence “Casey” Darnell. Darnell’s career with horses spanned decades and disciplines, and he was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2009.
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