Urbanite Choice In Merial Distaff
At Ruidoso On Sunday Afternoon
RUIDOSO DOWNS, New Mexico (August 25, 2011) — Royal
Dream Ranch’s Urbanite shoots for her third-straight win
and her first stakes win when she starts in the $50,000
Merial Ruidoso Distaff Challenge on Sunday afternoon
after winning the first of two trials with the
fastest-qualifying time.
First post time for the nine-race card is 1 p.m. with
the 400-yard Merial Ruidoso Distaff Challenge running as
the eighth race.
Urbanite has been steadily winning and moving up in
class for trainer Alez Sanchez. She scored her
second-straight win when she sped to a one-half length
win in the first of two Merial Ruidoso Distaff Challenge
trials with a :19.848 time for the 400 yards.
In her previous start, Urbanite won a $13,600 maiden
allowance at Gillespie Fairgrounds in her previous
start.
While a maiden until two starts ago, she had raced to
four second-place finishes and qualified for the Sunland
Winter Derby (G3).
Alonzo Rivera rides Urbanite with the second post
position.
The second trial results went to the photo finish as the
top-three horses were separated by a pair of noses.
Lana Merrick and Kent Jackson’s Famous Mariah got the
nose win in :19.905 over Full Moon Dasher and Illegal
Fireworks.
The Heath Reed-trained Famous Mariah has been on the
board in eight of 12 starts and has seconds in the John
Deere Will Rogers Downs Juvenile and the Miss Olene
Handicap at Remington Park.
Bielau Oaks’ Full Moon Dasher won three straight races
for trainer John Stinebaugh before her narrow setback in
her Merial Ruidoso Distaff Challenge trial. Her winning
streak was capped by a win in the Four Corners Senora
Stakes against New Mexico-breds at SunRay Park.
Illegal Fireworks won the Junos Request Stakes at 12-1
odds two starts ago at Remington Park. She has six wins
from 17 starts with three second-place finishes and two
third-place runs.
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