Cold Cash 123 takes dominating wins $350,000 Championship at Sunland Park G1

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Tommie Morelos / Coady Photography

Sunland Park, NM – Dec. 31, 2011 - Cold Cash 123 made a powerful statement for 2011 World Champion Quarter Horse honors after scoring a dominating 1-length win against a world class field in the $350,000 Championship (Grade 1) at Sunland Park on Saturday.

The Rainbow and Texas Classic Derby winner added the Championship at Sunland Park to his shining resume. The three-year-old gelded son of Oak Tree Special ran a near perfect 400 yard race in an extremely fast time of 18.733 seconds. The timing earned a 103 speed index and just missed the track record of 18.613 seconds set by Double Down Special. The winning time is believed to be among the top three fastest 400 yard clockings in Quarter Horse racing history, and there was no win blowing. Not know for his getaway abilities, Cold Cash 123 came out of the gate in first place and immediately had his rivals in a deep hole. The long striding sort assumed command early under jockey Roy Baldillez, and the duo increased their advantage down the lane.

Baldillez said in a post race interview, “He’s been so great. Today, he left there better than all year. He cruised on home. I wasn’t worried about the 400 yards. He’s pretty powerful. He could have won going 250 today. It didn’t matter. He ran a super race.”

Cold Cash 123 won the Grade 1 feature soundly defeated his elders under a hand ride. The 9-5 favorite paid $5.80 to win. He caps off a tremendous season by winning 6 of 8 races and earning three Grade 1 titles. He has won 6 of his last 7 races. The winner’s check was worth $157,000 for the T. Bill Stables. The champion sophomore has earned nearly $1 million under the direction of trainer C. Dwayne “Sleepy” Gilbreath.

Combined earnings in the Championship at Sunland Park field was over $5 million.

Bodacious Dash, runner-up to Cold Cash 123 in the Rainbow Derby, ran another superb race. Under jockey Ricky Ramirez, the First Down Dash colt fired well along the inside and produced a gallant second place effort. The runner-up earned a sizeable $70,000 for owner Johnny Trotter. Bodacious Dash is one of the leading three-year-old colts in the country. Trey Wood trains the 6-time winner and 2010 winner of the Texas Classic Futurity.

Rylees Boy duplicated his finish in last year’s Championship by running a solid third. Last season’s New Mexico Regional Challenge Championship winner tried his best under jockey Joe Ruiz. The veteran six-year-old gelding remained in third place throughout the feature. He picked up $32,000 in prize monies for owner-trainer Gerardo Ocho-Pena.

Louisiana Senator finished fourth, beaten over 2 lengths.