Rainbow Futurity Trials Evoke Memories Of Brooks’ Glory Years

RUIDOSO DOWNS (July 8, 2011) – Terry Bell and Bud Hill’s You And Me Partners combined with trainer Raymond Vargas’ to evoke memories of trainer Jack Brooks historic years at Ruidoso Downs when they qualified three horses – led by the top-two qualifiers Mighty Be Valiant and Jess Cuervo– to the Grade 1, $700,000 Rainbow Futurity on Friday afternoon at the New Mexico mountain track.

The Rainbow Futurity field on July 24 will consist of the two-year-olds who posted the 10-fastest times from the 22 trials at 400 yards.

For many years, everybody’s hall of famer Brooks ‑ winner of a record eight All American Futurities at Ruidoso Downs ‑ trained for You And Me Partners while Vargas was Brooks’ assistant for more than two decades. Now, these three Rainbow Futurity qualifiers are horses Brooks selected and help start on their racing careers. Vargas then assumed the training duties and they will be among the favorites to win the Rainbow Futurity, the race that Brooks won four times. His last win came 20 years ago with Steppin For The Moon and his four wins came within an eight-year stretch.

“It’s great to be part of this,” Brooks said. “I recommended the horses (when they were yearlings at the ranch) and now Raymond is the trainer.

“It’s unbelievable. Raymond is a hands-on trainer just like I was. I can go to the barn and sit on a bucket and watch him do things just like I did. It’s the little things.

“I’m so proud of Raymond.”

Mighty B Valiant races like a Brooks-trained champion from decades ago. He came to Ruidoso Downs with a grade 1-winning resume and in his first Ruidoso Downs’ start he sprinted down the straightaway to a dominating trial win.

Racing in the eighth trial, Mighty B Valiant did not get a great start, but quickly asserted himself to win as the 1-5 favorite. His three-and-one-quarter-length winning margin was the largest winning margin on the day by one length.

“He stood well in the gate, but then slipped a little bit leaving there,” said jockey G.R. Carter Jr., a member of the Ruidoso Downs Racehorse Hall of Fame. “I just asked him and he went on.”

Mighty B Valiant, quarter horse racing’s third-ranked two-year-old in the AQHA/Horseplayernow.com weekly poll, raced the 400 yards in :19.414 to top the qualifier’s list.

The son of Valiant Hero is building a race record that could lead to year-end championship honors. He won the $780,000 Remington Park Futurity in his second career start and in his last start before heading to Ruidoso Downs he was second in the Grade 1, $1 million Heritage Place Futurity as the 3-5 favorite.

 “This is one really nice horse,” Vargas understated after the Rainbow Futurity trial win. “We worked him one time up here (at Ruidoso) and it was into a strong head wind. He just ran right through it.”

In addition to Mighty B Valiant, the team will have second-fastest qualifier Jess Cuervo and eighth-fastest qualifier YM Quickly in the Rainbow Futurity.

Jess Cuervo, a homebred son of Corona Cartel, won the sixth trial by one-and-one-half lengths with a time of :19.448 as the 2-1 favorite under Carter Jr.

It was the third win from four starts for Jess Cuervo. He narrowly won his trials to the Remington Park Futurity and the Heritage Place Futurity, however his times were not fast enough to advance to the finals. He then raced to a fourth-place finish in the Easy Jet Stakes before shipping to Ruidoso Downs for the Rainbow Futurity trials.

YM Quick lost the fourth trial by a head-bobbing nose to Texas Rockstar, winner of the Ruidoso Juvenile in his previous start.

Texas Rockstar raced to a :19.591 time while the Carter-ridden YM Quick was timed in :19.595.

A homebred son of Valiant Hero, YM Quick won his maiden when he won his Remington Park Futurity trial and then finished fifth as the 7-2 favorite in the $100,000 Remington Park Juvenile.

Carter, the winner of the 1996 Rainbow Futurity, also placed third-fastest qualifier Feature Mr Bojangles in the Rainbow Futurity field. The son of Feature Mr Jess won the fifth trial in :19.481 in his Ruidoso Downs debut. He came off a win in the Four Corners Futurity at SunRay Park for owners SM Cattle Export Company and Jaime Dominguez.

Carter led the day with six winning rides while champion nine-time champion trainer Paul Jones, also a member of the Ruidoso Downs Racehorse Hall of Fame, saddled seven winners and will be represented by sixth-fastest qualifier Jess Sass Dash and ninth-fastest qualifier Big Daddy Cartel in the Rainbow Futurity.

Bell and Hill’s You And Me Partners, Brooks, Vargas and Carter; sometimes the names don’t change with time.