HEARTSWIDEOPEN, ILLEGAL MEMORIES RACE
TO RAINBOW DERBY FASTEST QUALIFIERS
RUIDOSO DOWNS, NM—JULY 4, 2008—Loose teeth that kept her from eating for eight days and a strong challenge from champion Illegal Memories could not deter Heartswideopen from setting the fastest-qualifying time to the Grade 1, $446,439 Rainbow Derby on Friday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs.
With Oscar Hernandez aboard, Heartswideopen rallied to the fastest-qualifying win with her 440-yard time of :20.976, making her the first horse to race three consecutive quarter mile races in under :21.00. She set the all-time fastest qualifying time of :20.921 to the All American Futurity and then won the All American Futurity in :20.997.
“She needed the competition and she got it today,” said winning jockey Oscar Hernandez. “We had the lead and then he caught us and then she came back.”
The 2007 champion two-year-old and champion two-year-old filly, Heartswideopen won the first of four trials by a neck. Illegal Memories raced to the second-fastest time of :21.005.
Heartswideopen has also overcome adversity since her half-length win in the Grade 1, $389,000 Ruidoso Derby on June 7. “She didn’t eat for eight days after the derby,” trainer Carl Draper said. “When she false broke [in the Ruidoso Derby] she loosened some teeth. But, she is doing well now.”
Heartswideopen, daughter of FEATURE MR JESS and champion Dashing Phoebe, took another step towards matching the feat of another Draper trainee, 2005 world champion DM Shicago. The gelding is the only horse to win the All American Futurity and then sweep the three derbies the following summer at Ruidoso Downs. Heartswideopen has wins in the All American Futurity and Ruidoso Derby, and will now be favored in the Rainbow Derby on July 19. She will then be pointed to the All American Derby.
It was Heartswideopen’s ninth win from 10 career starts and she has earned nearly $1.5 million.
The ILLEGAL RUNAWAY-sired Illegal Memories made his first start for trainer Heath Taylor in the Rainbow Derby trials. The gelding, who has been in the Taylor barn for about three weeks, was fractious in the saddling paddock, but responded in the trial for national champion jockey G.R. Carter Jr., who qualified three horses for the Rainbow Derby.
Illegal Memories earned his 2007 champion two-year-old gelding title with a win in the Grade 1, $1 million Texas Classic Futurity and a second in the Grade 1, $432,000 Dash For Cash Futurity. Each of those races were at Lone Star Park near Dallas.
The Rainbow Derby will be a rematch of the top two finishers in the All American Futurity with All American Futurity runner-up SF Royal Bank winning his trial by a neck in a tight finish over Ruidoso Derby runner-up Strong Hope and Rainbow Futurity fourth-place finisher Brighton Beach. He raced to the fourth-fastest qualifying time of :21.179.
“He broke well and we had the lead. Then the other horse (Strong Hope) came up on him,” winning rider Freddie Martinez said. “He was tired at the end and he needed the race. He’ll be fine.”
Trained by Paul Jones for owner Hector Roldan, SF Royal Bank prepared for the Rainbow Derby trials with a sharp allowance win at Ruidoso Downs on May 31.
Jones, the six-time defending training champion, also qualified Noconi, who was defeated in his trial by Eye Of Glory in a head-bobbing finish.
Johnny Trotter’s Eye Of Glory, trained by Blane Wood, is a game filly who has finished on the board in eight of 10 starts with four wins. Last year, the filly was a close second in the $305,000 Southwest Juvenile Championship at Zia Park and the Ruidoso Futurity to Heartswideopen.
