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Skip a Smile
named Texas Horse of the Year TTA - Jan. 11, 2012 (Austin, TX) - Rosemary Chandler's homebred Skip a Smile has been named the 2011 Texas Horse of the Year by the Texas Thoroughbred Association. The now 5-year-old Skip Away gelding earned 33 points in the Texas-bred Champions Point Standings based on stakes performances throughout the year to lead all Texas-breds. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Skip a Smile won five of 13 starts last year while banking $262,401. The gelding picked up four stakes victories during 2011 starting with January's $50,000 Richard King Stakes for Texas-breds on the Sam Houston Race Park turf course. Skip a Smile defeated Texas-breds again in the $75,000 Assault Stakes in July at Lone Star Park and then beat open company in a pair of $100,000 stakes at Remington Park in the Governor's Cup Stakes on the main track and Edward J. Debartolo Memorial Handicap on the grass. Skip a Smile is out of the Strawberry Road (Aus) mare Strawberry Smile, who as the dam of the Texas Horse of the Year earned Texas Broodmare of the Year honors. Skip a Smile also earned honors as the Texas Champion Older Horse. In a tight race for Texas Champion 2-Year-Old Filly, Tom Durant's homebred Im a Bear edged out Miss Lederhosen by one-half point. The daughter of Touch Tone broke her maiden at Lone Star Park and then finished third in divisions of the Texas Stallion Stakes at Lone Star and Retama Park. She capped off her campaign with a victory in the $55,000 Permian Basin Stakes at Zia Park in October. The title of Texas Champion 2-Year-Old Colt/Gelding goes to Sword Trick, a gelded son of Early Flyer running for breeder Clarence Scharbaurer Jr. Sword Trick won at first asking at Lone Star and then captured two editions of the Texas Stallion Stakes at Lone Star and Retama. The chase for the Texas Champion 3-Year-Old Filly crown ended in a tie as both Going Away Baby and Princess Turandot ended the year with an identical point total, so the highest earnings for the year served as the tie-breaker and gave the title to Princess Turandot. Bred and owned by Brian Cleveland, the filly by Gold Legend scored a five-length win in a division of the Texas Stallion Stakes at Lone Star Park and earned $81,167 during the year. Owners Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch campaigned a pair of Texas champions during the year with Tamtastic winning the title of Texas Champion 3-Year-Old Colt/Gelding and Taptam, last year's Texas Horse of the Year, taking the title of Texas Champion Older Filly/Mare. Both were bred by Sanders out of the Salt Lake mare Salty Tam. Tamtastic, a gelding by Early Flyer and the second 2011 Texas Champion for the Valor Farm stallion, earned his title with three stakes placings, two in Texas Stallion Stakes company and one in the Groovy Stakes at Sam Houston. Taptam, a 2005 daughter of Pleasant Tap who ran second to Zenyatta in the 2010 Apple Blossom Invitational Stakes (G1), won last year's $100,000 Star of Texas Stakes at Sam Houston against Texas-bred males and the $103,750 Mari Hulman George Stakes against open company at Hoosier Park. The 2011 Texas Champions will be honored at the TTA's annual meeting and awards luncheon later this year. The awards will also include the Texas Champion Claimer, which is currently being decided by an online poll at www.texasthoroughbred.com . | ||
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