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A Streak Again Upsets Zia Futurity During Zia Festival at Ruidoso Downs

RUIDOSO DOWNS, New Mexico (August 1, 2010) – The longest shot on the tote board, A Streak Again, defeated the short-priced favorite Streak Of Sixes in the Grade 1, $351,963 Zia Futurity, the richest race of the Zia Festival program, on Sunday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs.
The Zia Festival celebrates New Mexico-bred racing with a stakes-filled 10-race card offering more than $1.1 million in purses.
A Streak Again finished a neck ahead of Streak of Sixes with a :19.897 time for the 400 yards.
A Streak Again led a 1-2-3 sweep in the Zia Futurity for horses from the Juan Gonzalez stable. The Gonzalez-trained Moro Moon crossed the finish line in fourth position and was moved up to third place following the disqualification of Six Gun Regard, also trained by Gonzalez. Six Gun Regard was disqualified to seventh place by the stewards.
If there would not have been the disqualification, Gonzalez-trained horses would have taken the top-four positions in the nine horse field.
Sent off at 52-1 odds, A Streak Again held the lead in the Zia Futurity under Cody Jensen and was able to withstand a closing rush from the Tony Guymon-ridden Streak Of Sixes, the 2-5 favorite. Streak Of Sixes broke outward at the start from his outside post position and raced down the outside rail for most of the race.
Owned by KH Logax Inc, A Streak Again was winless in his previous five starts, but showed promise with a second-place finish in his Zia Futurity trial.
Peter and Marjorie Gallegos’ Streak Of Sixes was sent off as the prohibitive favorite after winning the New Mexican Spring Futurity at Sunland Park and the Mountain Top Futurity at Ruidoso Downs.

Rio Grande Senorita Futurity
Helen Nave’s homebred Comicsperfectstorm ran to her 3-5 odds while drawing away from her rivals to win the $198,322 Rio Grande Senorita Futurity by and easy four-and-one-half lengths.
The Todd Fincher-trained filly raced the five-and-one-half furlongs in 1:04.62 to gain her third impressive win from four starts.
The daughter of Comic Genius rushed to the lead under leading rider Juan Ochoa and then played with her rivals to affirm her dominance of the New Mexico-bred freshman filly division.
Comicsperfectstorm won her maiden at first asking by nearly 11 lengths and dominated her Rio Grande Senorita Futurity trial by nearly seven lengths.
Second-place finisher Colors of Pompeii finished two-and-a-quarter lengths ahead of third-place runner Squall Wilbud.

Rio Grande Senor Futurity
William Stradley’s homebred Running Squall raced like a prospect who should prefer longer distances with a late-charging victory in the $189,633 Rio Grande Senor Futurity over five-and-one-half furlongs.
The Fred Danley-trained Running Squall powered through the stretch past Spartan Warrior and Texas Silver to get with victory by a widening one-and-three-quarter lengths in 1:05.20 under Enrique Garcia.
Pacesetter Spartan Warrior finished second in his second career start while Texas Silver, the Mountain Top Futurity runner-up, was a close third.
Sent off at 8-1 odds in his seventh career start, Running Squall came into the Senor Futurity off two wins and a third-place effort in the Totah Futurity. The gelding made a 3-wide move to win his Senor Futurity trial by one-and-one-half lengths.

Land Of Enchantment
Joe Allen and Michael Stinson’s Fullofenergy set the early fractions with Lesters Secret and then pulled away to win the $50,000 Land Of Enchantment Stakes for the third-straight year.
Fullofenergy was timed in 1:32.13 for the seven-and-one-half furlongs with Carlos Madeira aboard.
A 7-year-old gelding from the Joel Marr barn, Fullofenergy won the 2008 Land Of Enchantment by nearly three lengths and then took the 2009 running by more than five lengths.
Fullofenergy secured his three-peat by one-and-one-half lengths.
The winner of 11 of 37 career starts with earnings of more than $502,000, Fullofenergy won the $100,000 Jack Cole Handicap at SunRay Park in his previous start.
Runner-up Lesters Secret was third in the Jack Cole Handicap and then raced to a third-place finish in the Sierra Blanca Handicap at Ruidoso Downs.

Zia Handicap
R.D. and Shaun Hubbard’s homebred PB And Crackers defended his title with a convincing victory in the Grade 2, $50,000 Zia Handicap over 400 yards.
Jockey Cody Jensen quickly hustled PB And Crackers, the 125-pound high weight, out of the gate in good order and the race was in hand within the first few strides. The gelded son of The Down Side and Zany Saltine drew away to win by an easy one-and-three-quarter lengths with a :19.379 time for the 400 yards.
Miracle Snow charged through the last half of the race to grab second place. In Famous Caper finished third, another neck back.
The Paul Jones-trained PB And Crackers won a stakes at Ruidoso Downs for the third-straight summer. He won the 2008 Ruidoso Juvenile and was then second in the Grade 1, $625,000 Rainbow Futurity. Last summer, he defeated older horses in the Zia Handicap.
PB And Crackers has six wins and five second-place efforts from 13 starts. He was sent off as the 9-5 favorite after an impressive allowance win at Ruidoso Downs.

Zia Derby
Jay and Mary Lou Standefer’s Here Kittykittykitty pulled away from 5-2 favorite Corona Memory Crest to take the Grade 2, $126,924 Zia Derby.
Trained by Wes Giles and ridden by Bonifacio Perez, Here Kittykittykitty scored his second stakes win in his latest three starts. The gelding won a state-bred stakes at SunRay Park on June 12.
A son of Genuine Strawfly, Here Kittykittykitty was second in the 2009 New Mexico Classic Cup Futurity at Zia Park.
Here Kittykittykitty raced the 400 yards in :19.741 to win by a neck at 4-1 odds.
Runner-up Corona Memory Crest, the 5-2 favorite, finished one-half length ahead of third-place finisher Jess A Chicks.

Road Runner Handicap
Freda McSwane and Joe Walters Train Rider Blues rolled through the stretch to win the $50,000 Road Runner Handicap by an expanding one-half length under Joe Martinez.
Train Rider Blues, the 19-10 favorite, raced the five-and-one-half furlongs in 1:04.05 for his second-straight win. He won the Dine Stakes at SunRay Park in his prior race.
The 3-year-old Train Rider Blues, who was second in the Norgor Derby on May 30, has earned nearly $290,000 from 15 starts.
The late-running Train Rider Blues raced from the outside post position in the 12-horse field, rallied on the turn and rallied between horses at the top of the stretch to secure a striking position. He passed Lester’s Echo in the final 100 yards to take the lead. My Picasso rallied to catch Lester’s Echo to finish second.

Lincoln Handicap
Maria Gonzalez’s Diamonds N Bling raced past the frontrunners on the turn and held off Wild Alaska to win the $50,000 Lincoln Handicap for distaff sprinters.
Diamonds N Bling raced the six furlongs in 1:11.35 for her first win since November, 2008. Jorge Martin Bourdieu was aboard for trainer Andres Gonzalez.
The filly was well respected at 4-1 odds in the wide-open field after finishing second in a SunRay Park allowance race on June 24.
Second-place finisher Wild Alaska started from the inside post position, moved to the outside and then returned to the rail in the stretch to finish second, beaten by three quarters of a length. Dream Kin was well back in third.

Sierra Starlet Handicap
BLM Racing Stables’ If I Had A Bull powered past three rivals in the final strides to score her first win in nearly a year in the $50,000 Sierra Starlet Handicap for 3-year-old fillies over five-and-one-half furlongs.
Mark Villa guided If I Had A Bull to the increasing one length win in 1:04.48.
The James J. Gonzales II-trained If I Had A Bull scored the 8-1 mild upset after finishing third in her two most recent starts, including the Aspen Cup on June 10.
Runner-up Ambers Pride, making just her third start, finished in second place by a neck over third-place finisher Awintersdream.

Zia 870 Championship
The Martin Orona Sr.-owned and -trained BRT Opulence ran down the tiring pacesetter To Shay to win the $50,000 Zia 870 Championship by an expanding one-and-one-quarter lengths.
To Shay, with Martin Bourdieu aboard, raced the 870 yards in :45.081.
Key’s Band, the only thoroughbred in the field, rallied for second and the late-running Heza Bold Color finished third. To Shay faded to fifth place.
The 3-1 second choice, BRT Opulence came off a win in the $75,000 New Mexico Horseman’s Handicap over 870 yards at SunRay Park. The 6-year-old gelding now has three wins from six 2010 starts.

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