Page 225 - Speedhorse, October 2021

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the races were played without an audience in the stands for several months and access to the winner circle was only allowed in a very restricted manner. Of the connections of Rancho Las Gaviotas, only Victor Hugo Arias Oropeza, the trainer responsible for saddling the filly, the rider Heriberto Camacho Sotelo and Luis Alejo Cruz participated in the award.
The Origin
RG Chosen Jewel was born in Hermosillo, capital of the State of Sonora, northwest of
the Mexican Republic, a state with a great tradition and taste for Quarter Horse racing and in racetracks. Horses and mares of the best genetic quality produce very competitive foals, and many others are imported from major U.S. auctions. There is also extensive experience in horse training.
In that environment, Douglas McLaurin, recognized as a scholar and connoisseur of equine genetic lines, bought Gators Girl (SI 91), a daughter of Jody O Toole. Her sporting career was developed in racetracks in Texas and New Mexico under the leadership of his breeder, trainer and owner Greg Myers. In 37 performances, she forged a 3-7-5 record, earn- ing $39,238. She won the Colors Of The Wind Handicap, was second in the TQHA Texas Bred Stakes and a finalist in the Barnmaster Sprint Stakes-RG3 and the Texas Distaff Challenge-G3.
No doubt that her phenotype is defined by her maternal grandfather, Coup De Kas TB, the same one she transmitted to RG Chosen Jewel, which is her first foal born in Mexico.
In her next crossing with Dog Daze Afternoon, she gave life to the colt Dogzylla, who is the Champion of the Nacameri Futurity (unof- ficial) in Rayón, State of Sonora. Her 2020 product is a colt by Swingin Corona and, in 2021 she foaled a filly by First Dinastia. “Due to the date on which this filly was born (April 20) and the age of the mare (23 years old), we decided to leave her open this year, to recover very well physically and try to obtain embryos in the 2022 season,” said Juan Pablo McLaurin, owner of the mare and who is officially the breeder of RG Chosen Jewel.
For his part, the stallion Dog Daze Afternoon (2004) is a son of Streakin La Jolla and the mare Gold Daze (by Tolltac). He was bred in the United States by Rhonda Rae and Dawn R. List at the prestigious Double Bar S Ranch, who also bred his maternal brother Jess You And I (by Feature Mr Jess), winner of mul- tiple classics and $1,851,691, being the great- grandson of the aforementioned Streakin La Jolla. As a runner, Dog Daze Afternoon won the Yavapai Downs Futurity-G3 and was third in the Desert Classic Futurity-RG3, Yavapai
Downs Derby-G3 and Santa Cruz Derby.
He also set a New Track Record at Graham County Fair (Safford, Arizona) for 400 yards in 19.83 seconds.
For the results of his first crop of runners, Dog Daze Afternoon was recognized as an AQHA Champion Sire in Arizona in 2012. Among his winning foals of stakes races in the United States are Madd Dog SI 96, with earn- ings of $72,652, and La Perrita De Anya SI 99, with earnings of $36,544.
The stallion arrived in the state of Sonora in 2013, under the ownership of Ramiro Chávez, a resident of Cumpas. “He spent two years
at Cumpas, but returned to serve one season in Oklahoma and one season in Arizona. When I returned to Mexico, I sent him to Hermosillo,
in charge of Douglas McLaurin,” said Ramiro Chávez. At that time, Douglas was responsible
for the facilities of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Livestock Research of the State of Sonora (PATROCIPES), where he hosted the stallion. When Douglas took possession of him, he already knew the performance of his first foals born in Mexico (La Sofia, Triton CS, Ganadero Specialty, etc.), and had bred Gators Girl with fro- zen semen from “El Perro”, as he is known, giving birth to RG Chosen Jewel in 2017.
Currently, the stallion remains in Hermosillo, Sonora, represented by Ovidio Alegría. For the 2022 season he will offer his services for a fee of $25,000 pesos ($1,250 US approximately). Undoubtedly, the World Record set by RG Chosen Jewel increases the appeal for more mare owners to demand his services.
The Francisco Pasquel Classic
The beginnings of the Classic in honor of the Mexican breeder and horseman Francisco Pasquel were in 2013, when the “Francisco Pasquel Award” was established as part of
the races that make up the Quarter Mile Breeders Cup, at a distance of 350 yards.
The first winner was Misterioso Coffer
(by Special Coffer). For the 2014 season it had already acquired the classification of a classic, for the winner The Best Power (by Four Sixes Power). In 2017, the distance
was reduced to 330 yards, with that race being a dead heat for first place between
SF Royal Chicks (by Simple Assault) and Juanitoespecialdash (by Royal Quick Dash).
In 2019, the AMCCCCM scheduled the Francisco Pasquel as an independent classic of the Quarter Mile Breeders Cup and reduced the distance to 110 yards, to be run on Feb.
10 of that year. Charly Cartel (by Watchful Vigilance) was the first winner of this meteoric race in 6.83 seconds, very close to tying his own track record (6.82 seconds) achieved on October 14, 2018.
The Rancho Las Gaviotas
Rancho Las Gaviotas is located in Zacatepec, State of Morelos. Their presence at the Hipodromo de las Americas dates back to 2008, the year in which they won the Remember Me Rose Award with the gelding This Lil Contender (by Title Contender), which in 2012 placed second in the Inaugural and Speed Classics; in 2014, RG Nicky Horse (by Sea Horse Corona) came second in the Garañones Futurity; the following year the colt RG Golden King (by
Stel Corona) was credited with the Jodys Glory Classic, while RG Malefika Cartel (by Danny Cartel) did the same in the consolation of Mexico Futurity.
Their 2016 season was successful, hav-
ing won the National Day of the Charro Championship and the Easily A Possum Classic with three-year-old RG Golden King, as well
as the Speed Classic with Swingin Corona (by Swingin Jess).
Encouraged by the results obtained on
the track and with a small initial band of broodmares, as well as a couple of stallions, Alfredo Rabanal Salinas decided to venture into breeding and established the Criadero San Sebastián, whose first outstanding products are stakes placed RG Onchao A King SI 96 (by RG Golden King) with $96,717 in earnings, and winner and stakes finalist RG Black Diamond SI 95 (by Swingin Corona) with $27,543.
It was in this environment that RG Chosen Jewel arrived at Rancho Las Gaviotas after parading through the ring of the Select Yearling Sale at Hipodromo de las Americas in 2018 (Lot #351 of the auction book, where her original name was Princess Q, being repurchased for $150,000 pesos ($7,690 U.S. approx.).
Soon a partnership was formed between Douglas McLaurin, his son Juan Pablo and Alfredo Rabanal, in order to train her and participate in the futurities and derbies restricted for those auctioned at the Hipodromo de las Americas. It was the temperament and difficult character of the filly that was the trigger to dissolve the partnership, ending with Alfredo buying out his partners and remaining as sole owner. “Being so difficult to handle, for me it was a lot of responsibility to Mr. McLaurin that one day the filly would be seriously injured and render them bad accounts,” said Alfredo, who took on the personal challenge of taming and training her.
Her first season was practically lost due to the injuries suffered. At the age of three (2020) she began to show better control and a power- ful start playing in uneven races, before the suspension of activities for six and a half months at the Hipodromo of las Américas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She had three starts at this track, where she came in third in a maiden at 300 yards.
NEWS BRIEFS
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