The Inside Track by Tim Keithley: New Faces Converge in the Starting Gate for $50,000 First Lady Handicap on Sunday
Fillies and Mares from many different track venues have gathered at Ruidoso Downs Race Track to compete in Sunday’s running of the $50,000 First Lady Handicap going six furlongs. Five of the eight starters have never raced here before.
Flyin Falynn (#2) has been made the 5/2 morning line favorite by the racing office and will be ridden by Shane Laviolette for trainer Chris Zamora. The five-year-old mare won a $29,000 allowance race at Sunland Park in March and has been working in the mornings for over a month to prepare.
“What I can say about her is that she’s mean,” Zamora said in the barn this week. “She’s so ready to run. She’ll bite you if you’re not careful—she’s all business all the time.”
Flyin Falynn was awarded a bullet for her work on June 20 at Ruidoso Downs, covering three furlongs in 36.40 seconds. She was fastest out of seven that worked that morning. She hasn’t started in a race since her victory on March 10 at Sunland.
Other top contenders include Tap Into Beauty (#1), a four-year-old filly from the Todd Fincher barn for owner George Coleman. She has only two-lifetime starts including a maiden win in Albuquerque last summer. She last raced May 15 at Santa Anita finishing seventh in a $40,000 optional claiming race.
“She arrived here at 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning,” Fincher said. “I had her when she broke her maiden, and then she had a minor injury so she was turned out for the winter without having surgery. She was ready to run at Sunland but when the track shut down early she was sent to California. They couldn’t find a race for her, so they sent her back here to compete in this stakes race.”
Tap Into Beauty is 8-1 with jockey Luis Fuentes riding. Fuentes currently leads the thoroughbred jockey standings with 12 season wins.
Presley (#4) comes to Ruidoso Downs having won a maiden special weight race at Oaklawn Park March 20 for owner Bryan Henderson who sent the filly to the barn of Dallas Barton.
“They brought her here to see what she can do versus stakes caliber horses,” Barton said. “If you can win at Oaklawn you can win anywhere. So the owners just wanted to see what they might have with this filly.”
Presley arrived in Ruidoso on June 14 and worked four furlongs two days later in 48.20 seconds, second-fastest out of 33 horses. She is 12-1 on the morning line, and will be ridden by Miguel Fuentes Jr.
Shanghai Keely (#3) has 9/2 odds for owner Mark Dyer, trainer Justin Evans and jockey Jimmy Coates. The three-year-old filly ran second as the heavy favorite here June 19 in a $11,500 allowance. She has been primarily used on the west coast with racing lines from Delmar, Santa Anita and Golden Gate. The filly won a $75,000 stakes race at Sunland Park in February.
Ornamental Iron (#7) is 10-1 for owner Andrea Portillo and trainer Raymond Valerio having a recent win in a $10,000 optional claiming race at Fonner Park in Nebraska on May 13. She will be ridden by Enrique Gomez.
A field of eight fillies and mares are scheduled to go to post in the 10th race on Sunday.