Page 66 - May 2022

Photo by Bill McNabb
“What do you say, Fish? That’s okay. Bubbas got more important things to do than yak with me. I just wanted to see this place and check and see if y’all have any runners over here. Because I’ve got a sure enough scorpion over there in Artesia (This was not true, and I already knew it).”
Fish chuckled. “Oh yeah? What have you got over there? One of them Azure Te’s?”
“You’ll find out when we get to Ruidoso. I want it to be a surprise.”
“Oh, I’ll be surprised, all right, if you come up with anything that can beat these here colts. We got some runners up in here. Two of ‘em for sure.”
“Oh, two of them, huh? I always thought
“Today you might see the fastest horse you’ve ever seen in your life.” - Cascio said of Windy Ryon
that unless a colt was a standout in his own stable, he wasn’t going to be a standout at Ruidoso. So, these two runners of y’all’s been working head and head, have they?”
“Oh no. Bubba don’t want to hook ‘em up. Not now, anyway. Maybe on Labor Day.”
“All right, let’s see what you got.”
Fish walked me down the shed row of the elegant barn, reciting the pedigrees of the freshly turned two year olds, many of which he knew because the colts’ parents had also raced in the Cascio stable. Several were offspring of Rocket Wrangler, with whom Cascio had won the 1970 All American Futurity.
“This big rascal here can flat out haul the mail,” said Fish, pointing to a leggy sorrel colt. “He’s a Rocket Wrangler. And this colt over here is a Go Man Go,” indicating a less leggy but similarly long bodied colt. “He can sure enough run.”
We went on down the length of the barn and every gorgeous super-bred prospect reminded me that my string of youngsters was outmatched. When we exited the barn something odd caught my eye. Out on the training track, the starting gate had individual board rails built to extend 30 or 40 feet from each starting gate stall.
“Of course, it didn’t take me long to see he was special.” - Cascio said of Dash For Cash
64
SPEEDHORSE May 2022
Speedhorse Archives
Dash For Cash’s stablemate Windy Ryon,
a stakes placer plagued by minor problems in his racing career and who went on to sire two AQHA Champions.
Multiple stakes winner Dash For Cash, an immortal influence on the sprinting breed and the #6 all- time leading sire of nearly $40 million.
Speedhorse Archives
Ruidoso Downs
Rocket Wrangler, trained by Bubba Cascio, bred by B.F. Phillips Jr. and ridden by Jerry Nicodemus, winning the 1970 All American Futurity.