Saturday, January 08, 2011
Miguel Hernandez rode Black Hills to a half-length victory in Saturday’s $50,000 Winsham Lad Stakes at Sunland Park.
Saddled by Bart Hone for Class Racing Stable of Escondido, California, Black Hills went one mile and 70 yards in 1:41 while scoring his ninth win in 20 starts. The 7-year-old dark bay or brown gelding by Judge T C returned a $13.40 win mutuel as the 5-1 fourth choice in the wagering.
Black Hills was bred in Florida by Juan Centeno, and the gelding is one of 14 stakes winners from 407 starters sired by Judge T C, a 20-year-old stallion by Judge Smells who won the $168,770 Fayette Stakes (G2) at Keeneland Racecourse and $235,600 Clark Handicap (G3) at Churchill Downs in 1995. Judge T C has sired the earners of more than $20.1 million from 11 crops, including his top earner, 2004 United Nations Handicap (G1) winner Request For Parole.
Black Hills is also one of three winners from four starters produced by Little Sioux, a 15-year-old winning daughter of the Forty Niner stallion Tactical Advantage. Little Sioux’s half brother, the Proud Birdie colt One Bad Bird, won the second division of the Prevue Stakes for 2-year-olds at Remington Park in 1996. Another half sibling, the Marfa filly Lights Of Marfa, ran third in the 1992 William Parker Stakes at The Meadowlands in New Jersey and equaled Belmont Park’s 7-furlong course record the following season.
Black Hills traces back to his fourth dam, the unraced Count Fleet mare Sparkle. A 1955 Kentucky-bred foal, Sparkle produced eight winners from 10 starters, including stakes winners Sparkling Native and Sparkling Johnny, a Raise A Native colt who won three stakes in south Florida from 1964-65 and ran second in Native Charger’s 1965 Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah Park.
A $25,000 buy at the 2005 Ocala Breeders’ Open Yearling Sale, Black Hills has earned $381,080, and his stakes resume includes a three-length victory in last year’s Winsham Lad. The one-time $12,500 claimer has won a total of four stakes, including the $200,000 Zia Park Distance Championship Handicap and $100,000 San Juan County Commissioners Handicap in 2009.
Red Lead ran second and was followed by 9-5 favorite Imco Spirit (IRE), Double Shuffle, Schramsberg, Skip A Smile, Lydia’s Last Step, Quiet Again, and Vamoose.
Red Lead banked $10,750 to push his earnings to $449,870 for owners Frontier Stables LLC. A 5-year-old Florida-bred gelding by Red Bullet, Red Lead has won seven of 20 outs while racing in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Iowa, and his three stakes wins include last year’s 1 1/8-mile, $114,400 Sunland Park Handicap, and the 1 1/16-mile, $60,000 Jim Rasmussen Memorial Stakes at Prairie Meadows.
Imco Spirit finished 4 ¾ lengths behind Black Hills, and the 5-year-old Invincible Spirit (IRE) gelding earned $5,000 to increase his bankroll to $219,167 from five wins in 21 races. A $12,500 claim by J. Kirk Robison and trainer Henry Dominguez on August 29 at Del Mar, Imco Spirit has since won three of his five starts and has earned $176,616, and his wins include the December 5, $218,000 Zia Park Distance Championship Handicap.