Silver For Me Pays Dividends With Win In Ruidoso Futurity

RUIDOSO DOWNS, New Mexico (June 12, 2011) – Silver For Me paid big dividends to his owners and his wagering supporters with his victory in the Grade 1, $500,000 Ruidoso Futurity on Sunday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs.

The gelding’s owners, G.W. Hartstack with B and B Electric, paid the $15,000 late supplemental fee to enter the Ruidoso Futurity trials and they were rewarded with a $250,000 first-place check.

Silver For Me was sent off as an 11-1 longshot and with 22-1 Back In The Pack finishing second and 9-1 Ochoa racing to a third-place finish they combined for a $4,953.80 trifecta payoff.

The Jackie Riddle-trained Silver For Me is now the only horse eligible for the $4,000,000 All American Triple Crown Bonus, the largest bonus in quarter horse racing. To earn the bonus he must also win the Grade 1, $700,000 Rainbow Futurity and the Grade 1, $2,400,000 (est.) All American Futurity, the world’s richest quarter horse race, at Ruidoso Downs.

Silver For Me got off to a rocky start and displayed the talent to overcome adversity. He broke inward at the start and bumped with Sure Shot B before going on to win by a neck in :17.481 for the 350 yards.

“We didn’t get away (from the gate) the best,” said Carlos Madeira of his biggest win in a quarter horse race. “At about 50 yards he just kicked it in.” Madeira is one of the top thoroughbred jockeys in New Mexico and was the only rider to pilot the undefeated winner of 19 starts Peppers Pride, who is being inducted into the Ruidoso Downs Racehorse Hall of Fame on Friday.

It was a neck margin to Back In The Pack and Ochoa was three quarters of a length behind Back In The Pack for third.

Silver For Me started his career in Texas and then moved to Ruidoso for the summer futurity season. In Texas, he showed promise with a second-place finish in the Sam Houston Juvenile Stakes after having problems in the gate.

“We really worked with him in the gate and that made a big difference,” said Madeira.
The gelded son of Corona For Me made his first local start in the Ruidoso Futurity trials and lived up to those $15,000-supplemental expectations with a three quarter length win. His :17.629 time for the 350 yards was the fourth-fastest qualifying mark from the 21 trials on opening day, May 27.

Silver For Me will now try the increased distances of the 400-yard Rainbow Futurity and the 440-yard All American Futurity in his All American Triple Crown quest. “Longer distance will not be a problem,” said Madeira.

Debra Gotovac’s second-place finisher Back In The Pack, the only filly in the Ruidoso Futurity, responded with a second-place finish that will make her one of the favorites for the rest of the summer season.

Another offspring of Corona For Me, Back In The Pack began her career for trainer Brad Bolen in Oklahoma and qualified for the $326,000 Oklahoma Futurity. The $9,000 purchase at the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale finished second in her Ruidoso Futurity trial and her time of :17.635 was the 10th and final qualifying time to the Ruidoso Futurity.

Third-place finisher Ochoa also surprised after being fractious in the gate before the start. The Sleepy Gilbreath-trained gelding then broke out at the start and gamely rallied for third in just his second career start.

The gelded son of Tres Seis impressed in his career debut when he battled to win his Ruidoso Futurity trial by a neck and his time of :17.630 was the fifth-fastest qualifying mark.

Following Ochoa under the wire were Tex Cartel B, TMF Cash Dynasty, Sure Shot B, Fly First Down, Feature This Cold, Valiant Valor and Separate Cartel.