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RACING NEWS
La Fiesta Derby
THE BIG FAVORITE
by Danny Camp
The Big Favorite was the 5-to-2 morning line favorite in the La Fiesta Derby. The race
is a 400-yard event hosted by the Downs At Albuquerque, and it boasted a $174,148 purse.
The brown gelding won his trial heat on Sept. 11 wire-to-wire by 2-lengths. He came into the finals with the second fastest qualifying time.
In the finals, The Big Favorite stepped away from the number seven post on the lead with Adrian Ramos aboard. They got the first call, but the jockey knew they had their work cut out for them.
At mid-stretch, they were just a head in front but they were running strong. They had a head at the top of the stretch and they crossed the line a neck to the good, stopping the clock at :19.845 to earn a 86 speed index.
The gelded son of Favorite Cartel also earned the first place check worth $87,954. That takes his lifetime earnings to $146,743,
The Downs at Albuquerque
$174,148 • 400 yards :19.845 • si 86
FAVORITE CARTEL
si 104
Bred by: Paul Jones/Thompson Racing Inc
Raced to 4 • $607,669 25-9(3)-2-4(2)
1,445 f., 93 SW • $33,072,206
FAVORITE TRICK TB
Bred by: Mr. & Mrs. M. L. Wood Raced to 3 • $1,726,793 16-12(11)-0-1(1)
643 f., 26 SW • $22,184,011
Bred by:
Steve D. Burns DVM
Raced to 3 $146,743 11-4(1)-1(0)-2(0)
SHENOSHERCORONA si 91 Bred by: Henry E. Brown Raced to 4 • $16,318 15-1-3-2
28 f., 3 SW • $1,164,117
CLASSIC SASSY CHIC
si 110
Bred by: Jesus Velasco Raced to 5 • $221,377 25-10(6)-4(1)-6(3)
38 f., 4 SW • $774,137
A CLASSIC DASH si 93 Bred by: H G Stevenson Raced to 2 • $1,078,617 8-7(2)-1(1)-0
648 f., 35 SW • $6,766,781
CASSIES SASSY CHIC si 89 Bred by: John Odell
Raced to 3 • $15,150 16-3-4-3
2 f., 1 SW • $224,322
192 SPEEDHORSE October 2022
The Big Favorite wins the $174,148 La Fiesta Derby under Adrian Ramos at The Downs at Albuquerque.
Coady Photography
THE BIG FAVORITE ‘19-g.