The Inside Track by Tim Keithley: Mountain Top Futurity Finals
Here’s What Trainers are Saying about Saturday’s $359,069 Mountain Top Quarter Horse Futurity
Photo of Heza Classy Now by Jake Rogers, courtesy of Ruidoso Downs.
# 1: Hatchi Zulu (Scratched)
# 2: Lunas Glitteringsstar (Scratched)
# 3: Heza Classy Now 7/2 Jockey Paul Nieto
*Fastest Qualifying Time of 17.944 seconds
Trainer Harvey Baeza: “The colt was a good in the gate during the trial and we were just lucky that he had settled down enough when the kicked them. He showed us some real speed in that race but so can these other state-breds.”
#4: Jessies Allstar 9/2 Jockey Sergio Becerra Jr.
Trainer Gerald Reed: “He stepped out in front in the trials and never looked back, so we’re looking for him to do the same thing on Saturday.“
#5: Leading Cartel 3-1 Jockey Esgar Ramirez
Assistant Trainer Cody Noel (Mike Robbins): “The horse is dong super good leading up to the race and we thought his first two starts were exception,” he said. “He overcame a lot of adversity in the starting gate last time—we’re hoping he can repeat the performance.”
#6 Ezze Dash 15-1 Jockey Raul Ramirez Jr.
Trainer Mike Joiner: “She’s a small filly and ran with courage in her trial. She’s a home-grown so she’s special to her owners—Candy and Calder Ezell--she’ll have to really break to outrun some of those that made the final.”
#7 Cannelloni (Scratched)
#8 Surfz Up 15-1 Jockey Adrian Ramos
Trainer Sergio Ibarra: “I thought she showed a lot of heart to get up right behind Heza Classy Now in the trial. She came back a little sore but has been doing much better. She’ll have to tell us whether she’s ready to run.”
#9 Woodys Gold 10-1 Jockey Francisco Calderon
Assistant Trainer Renee Wilson (Clinton Crawford): “We’re liking the outside post position to keep him trouble-free. He ran very green in the trials and he’s so physically big that we were concerned about him leaving. Francisco is such a good jockey—he got him to go when the gates opened. He’ll need to break with them and run ‘em down.”
#10 Midnight Train Mo 20-1 Jockey Alfredo Triana Jr. (Younger brother of trainer)
Trainer Juan Martin Triana: “This is a family operation so we’re very excited to be in our first stakes race at Ruidoso Downs. We gave the colt a start at Remington just to gain experience. In his trial race, we was picking up horses in the final 50 yards and just missed by a neck. He’s a full brother to Rock About It who set the 550-yard track record here a few years back. He’s going to be better at longer distances than 350-yards.”