Feature Honor Steps Up Saturday With Adequan Ruidoso Derby Win

RUIDOSO DOWNS, New Mexico (July 2, 2011) – Tremor Enterprises’ Feature Honor, the 3-2 favorite, could become a dangerous contender at the grade 1 level after his late-charging victory over a solid field in the $53,820 Adequan Ruidoso Derby Challenge on Saturday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs.

The Ramon Sanchez-ridden Feature Honor did not get the best of starts, but quickly sprinted into contention from the inside post position. The Feature Mr Jess colt then went to work to post the neck win in a sharp :19.259 time for the 400 yards.

Hector Ramirez’s Zoomandkicken was second by one-half length over the Juan Esquivel-owned and -trained DM Strait.

The Paul Jones-trained Feature Honor came into the Adequan Ruidoso Derby Challenge with four wins and three second-place finishes from seven starts. The $12,000 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale purchase won a minor futurity in Mexico City early in his juvenile season and then moved to Ruidoso Downs last summer.

In his American debut, Feature Honor was second in his John Deere Ruidoso Juvenile Challenge trial behind Dominyun and both horses qualified for the finals. They were each scratched to point at the All American Futurity with Dominyun finishing a close third in the All American Futurity and Feature Honor winning his All American Futurity trial, however not qualifying for the finals. He then went to Lone Star Park to finish second in his Dash For Cash Futurity and Texas Classic Futurity trials.

Feature Honor made his 2011 debut in the Adequan Ruidoso Derby Challenge trials and raced to a one-and-one-half-length win with the fastest-qualifying mark of :19.656 from the three 400-yard trials.

The Adequan Ruidoso Derby Challenge victory continued a year-long hot streak for Jose Trevino’s Tremor Enterprises. Last Sunday night at Los Alamitos, the Tremor-owned Separate Fire won the Grade 1, $1,000,000 Ed Burke Million after winning the Grade 1 Kindergarten in May. She was named the nation’s number-one ranked two-year-old quarter horse earlier this week.

Also, the Tremor Enterprises-owned Fly First Down was the fastest qualifier to the Grade 1, $500,000 Ruidoso Futurity and the Tremor-owned Mr Piloto won the Grade 1, $2,000,000 All American Futurity last September.

Earlier on the Saturday program, nobody was able to win the Tri-Super wager there will be a $40,523 carryover to Sunday’s racing program. The wager requires the winner to select the top-three finishers, in order, in the fourth race and the top-four finishers, in order, in the sixth race.