Page 76 - December 2021

The Revenant, earner of $192,700, is the first foal produced by the Remember Me Rose and Favorite Cartel crossing.
Powerful Favorite winning the Go Man Go Handicap-G1.
Runforyourlife winning the Golden State Million Futurity-G1.
Cyber Monday winning the Ruidoso Futurity-G1.
“Favorite Cartel doesn’t look like he has that much Thoroughbred in him. He’s not real big. We like that the Thoroughbred is there, but it’s not overwhelming.”
– Jo Burns
he retired from racing in late 2011. A son of Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Favorite Trick, Favorite Cartel is out of the Corona Cartel mare Shenoshercorona. Favorite Cartel was a multiple graded stakes winner and earned $607,669.
“Favorite Cartel doesn’t look like he has that much Thoroughbred in him,” said Jo. “He’s
not real big. We like that the Thoroughbred is there, but it’s not overwhelming.”
Favorite Cartel has developed into a sensational sire when bred to a variety of mares, but he is nicking incredibly well with Remember Me Rose.
“She’s a big, pretty mare,” said Steve. “She’s by Corona Cartel, and he’s out of a Corona Cartel mare. So that makes it a 3x2 Corona Cartel cross.”
“We’ve noticed that cross is working for other people, too,” said Jo.
“Dr. Allred has that mare Moonlight Corona, who has two Grade 1 performers by Favorite Cartel: Nomadic and Circle City,” said Steve.
Moonlight Corona is also by Corona Cartel. Circle City is a multiple Grade 1 winner, and Nomadic has run second in two Grade 1 races and won two Grade 2 stakes.
Remember Me Rose produced her first foal by Favorite Cartel in 2015. Named The Revenant, he ran third in three stakes, including two Grade 2 races, and earned $192,700.
Powerful Favorite, foaled in 2016, continues
to race well and has earned more than $1 million. Runforyourlife, one of three 2017 Favorite Cartel- Remember Me Rose foals, won the 2019 Golden State Million Futurity-G1. Cyber Monday, foaled in 2018, won the 2020 Ruidoso Futurity-G1 and now stands at stud at Lazy E Ranch in Oklahoma.
When one of the Favorite Cartel-Remember Me Rose foals don’t make it to a sale or don’t sell, the Burnses race them and Mike Casselman, Jo’s brother, trains them. Go To Girl, a 2018 foal, currently runs for them and dead-heated for first in the Nov. 20 Las Chiquitas Handicap at Los Alamitos.
Markum was a partner in Remember Me Rose and is the co-breeder of Powerful Favorite. He sold his interest to the Burnses, and Steve is the sole breeder of those bred in 2017 and later. Rosenthal Ranch owns Powerful Favorite, and owner Connie Rosenthal and trainer Christopher O’Dell liked him so much that Rosenthal Ranch also bought Runforyourlife.
Those connections are also developing Bomb Cyclone, a Favorite Cartel-Remember
Me Rose gelding foaled in 2019. Though he had a few gate problems early, Bomb Cyclone impressed the Burnses in winning in his racing debut last June at Ruidoso.
“He broke dead last by many,” said Jo. “And then he just ran by them, like you’ve never seen happen in a Quarter Horse race. He has a ton of talent.”
After three starts at Ruidoso, Bomb Cyclone shipped to Los Alamitos and qualified the fastest for the Los Alamitos $2 Million Futurity-G1 with an incredible 4-length victory in his trial. He won the $2,009,825 final on Dec. 12 by 1 1/2-lengths.
Though so many have run well, the Favorite Cartel-Remember Me Rose foals often don’t look alike.
“Bomb Cyclone is real tall and real stretchy,” said Jo.
“Powerful Favorite isn’t real big,” added Steve. “There’s quite a bit of difference between them.” “These yearling fillies were also completely
different,” said Jo.
The physical differences certainly don’t
seem to matter when it comes to performing on the track.
Remember Me Rose’s success story is by
no means an anomaly, however. Burns Ranch consistently ranks among the nation’s leading breeders, topping them all in 2019 and second only to Bobby Cox in 2020. Other stallions and mares have contributed substantially to Burns Ranch, which though based in Southern California, has its roots in Colorado and Texas.
Jo met Steve in Colorado when he was train- ing horses and getting ready to attend vet school.
“I loved the racetrack, so my thought was to go to vet school and end up right back at the racetrack,” Steve said. “But I got out of vet school and ended up on a breeding farm.”
The racetrack’s loss was the breeding industry’s gain. Steve worked for Herb Graham in Texas, and Pete Parrella in California, before Steve and Jo bought Burns Ranch in Menifee. Steve’s career has paralleled the development
of embryo transfer, and he has been one of the
74 SPEEDHORSE December 2021
Susan Bachelor, Speedhorse William Zuazo, Speedhorse Scott Martinez, Los Alamitos
Scott Martinez, Los Alamitos