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Co-owner Jeff Jones, Trainer Heath Taylor and Co-owner Steve Holt
“You raise them, you foal them out, you spend every day of their life with them, and there aren’t enough words to say how good it makes you feel.”– Steve Holt
Linda Earley, Speedhorse
with his All American Futurity victory at Ruidoso Downs.
“I felt the key was getting my horse to relax in the warm-up before the race,” said jockey James Flores.
“I got him away from the pony horse and just let him be himself so that when he was moving into the starting gate he was loose and ready to run a big race,” Flores continued.
When Hes Judgeandjury came
out of post six, KJ Leader Ofthe
Pack to his inside bumped
him. Nevertheless, Hes Judgeandjury was soon battling for the lead with Chasing AJ, another horse Holt owns in partnership.
Sicario V closed ground from the outside, but Hes Judgeandjury defeated that rival by a neck in :21.192 for 440 yards.
“When Judge broke right with them, I thought there was no way he’ll run worse than third,” said Holt.
“Then Chasing AJ came up right next to him, and when he saw that horse, he beared down and I thought, ‘We’ve got a shot.’ The 10 (Sicario V) was coming on the outside, but I thought with AJ up there pushing Judge, we
would be in great shape and it ended up that way. He’s just a horse with a ton of heart.”
Still, Holt couldn’t believe they had won the All American Futurity, a race everyone in the industry dreams of winning.
“You raise them, you foal them out, you spend every day of their life with them, and there aren’t enough words to say how good it makes you feel,” Holt said.
Heath Taylor, who won the 2008 All American Futurity with Stolis Winner, trains Hes Judgeandjury and Empressum.
“I’ve been around multiple trainers, but
he works as hard as any of them,” Holt stated. “He’s more knowledgeable than most of them. He doesn’t take anything for granted. He doesn’t leave any stone unturned in getting a horse prepared.”
166 SPEEDHORSE October 2022
Trainer Heath Taylor, wife Tracy with sons Bryce and Michael.
Linda Earley, Speedhorse
Myriam Maynard, Speedhorse