THIS SNOW IS ROYAL Gets Seventh G1 Winner BLAZIN FIRE Wins John Deere Championship
CYPRESS, CA - NOVEMBER 3, 2007 - Blazin Fire, a 5-year-old THIS SNOW IS ROYAL mare finally picked up her grade 1 status Saturday night at Los Alamitos with a victory in the $100,000 John Deere Distaff Challenge Championship (G1).
Blazin Fire is the seventh grade 1 stakes winner sired by THIS SNOW IS ROYAL. Trained by Paul Jones and ridden by jockey Cody Jensen, the mare won the 400-yard race wire-to-wire, completing it in :19.571, a stakes record time.
Blazin Fire is a homebred racing for Dan and Lisa McMahon. She is out of their good mare Blazin Sin, a daughter of Easy Crimson.
"Her (dam) was dying of cancer," said McMahon, "and the vets cleared her to be put down. (Blazin Sin) had just foaled a full sister (to Blazin Fire). But then the vets called and said her cancer was in remission, and they asked us if we wanted to try to get an embryo out of her. We said yes, and luckily we did because that embryo turned out to be Blazin Fire. She's our miracle baby. We had to put her dam down about a month later. (As a baby) she was a little spitfire, just full of herself. There was always something special about her. I believed in her from day one."
Starting in 2005, the Tennessee-bred mare has won four of 16 stakes appearances. Victories include the John Deere California Distaff Challenge (G3) earlier this year, the same race last year, plus last year's Las Damas Handicap (G2). Blazin Fire also finished second in last year's Millie Vessels Memorial Handicap (G1). All told, she has won 9 of 29 starts and earned $244,898.
In her previous race, she finished sixth in the Millie Vessels Memorial Handicap (G1) after suffering a bad trip.
"It was really deep on the outside of the track," McMahon said. "Our trainer Paul Jones warned us a few races before that she was going to have to really get out good. He was also worried because sometimes it takes her a little time to settle in the gate, and she didn't really break as sharp as she can tonight even. She hit the side of the gate coming out, and then she just turned right about two lengths to the rail. She still tried, but that was just a race to throw out."
Sired by THIS SNOW IS ROYAL, Blazin Fire is a half-sister to stakes winner The Blazin Man and stakes-placed runner Blazin High.
"She was always small," McMahon said of Blazin Fire. "As you could see tonight, she was one of the smallest ones in this race. But she was just built perfectly with perfect conformation. She looked like a perfect race horse."
Earlier this year, her connections pulled an embryo from her by First Down Dash.
Blazin Fire's connections said she will probably point to the Las Damas Handicap instead of next month's Champion of Champions(G1).
Completing the field were What A Performance, Ramblin Girl, Toole N Round, Eye Caughtcha Peekin (last years John Deere Championship winner), Eyesa Country Miss, Love To Finish First, Eyesa Memories, Awezoomin and Magnolia Lane.
Editor Note: Photos of the race were not available at press-time, but will be added when we receive them.
