GONE TO THE MOUNTAIN ENDS SNOWBOUND SUPERSTAR'S STREAK
LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, CYPRESS, CA… (October 31, 2009) Snowbound Superstar's winning streak is over, but it took a world record holder running at his very best to end it. Ridden by Freddie Martinez for trainer We Giles, Gone To The Mountain blasted out of the starting to an early lead and then held off a modest late rush by the two-time distance champion to win Saturday's 870-yard $125,000 Red Cell Distance Challenge at Los Alamitos. The loss ends Snowbound Superstar's all-time Quarter Horse win streak at 15, while also giving the gray gelding his first ever defeat at 870.
The night belonged to Clyde Woerner's New Mexico-invader Gone To The Mountain, as he led virtually every step of the way en route to a 1-3/4 length win in a time of :44.435. The son of Panther Mountain has now won five of six starts this season, his only loss being a second place finish to Snowbound Superstar at Remington Park in Oklahoma earlier this year.
"We knew we could beat Snowbound Superstar and tonight I knew we had it won 10 seconds into the race," Woerner said. "I felt we were in a great spot as soon as he opened up a length on Snowbound Superstar."
"By taking the lead right away we prevented Snowbound Superstar from carrying us wide around the turn," Giles added. "The race played out exactly the way we were hoping it would."
By evening out the score with his distance rival, Gone To The Mountain now has to be considered the favorite to win the title of champion distance horse of 2009. In addition to winning this race, which is Quarter Horse racing's richest race at 870 yards, Gone To The Mountain has won three other distance stakes races this year, one of which came in a world record time of :43.029 at Sunland Park in New Mexico. Gone To The Mountain's victory was worth $60,000 to give him career earnings of $393,600. The bay stallion could return to New Mexico or stick around in California to run in the Marathon Handicap in mid-December at Los Alamitos.
Owned by Tom Brinkley and trained by Paul Jones, Snowbound Superstar ran a gallant race, as he finished nearly two lengths ahead of third place finisher Bad Act. Snowbound Superstar was undefeated in 15 starts at 870 yards prior to this race.
"You can't win them all," Brinkley said. "Snowbound Superstar has taken us on a ride of a lifetime. He ran hard tonight and we got beat. I'd love to run for a third time against Gone To The Mountain. We would run against him again next month if possible."
"At his peak, Snowbound Superstar was pretty unbeatable," Jones said. "Snowbound Superstar has lost a step, but it was bound to happen because he is almost seven. He is still a great horse. He's just not as great as he once was."