Thursday, September 09, 2010
Vanessa Bartoo’s Double Down Special and Rose Chandler’s Skip A Smile were named the Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred of the 2010 meet, respectively, at Ruidoso Downs.
A 3-year-old bay gelding by The Down Side trained by John Stinebaugh, Double Down Special earned $1,061,784 from four starts, and his three wins during the meet included Sunday’s 440-yard All American Derby and the June 12 Ruidoso Derby (G1). He also was named the season’s top 3-year-old Quarter Horse.
Skip A Smile is a homebred 3-year-old Skip Away gelding who won the 1 1/16-mile, $40,000 Ruidoso Thoroughbred Derby on September 4. Trained by Todd Fincher, Skip A Smile is undefeated in two outs, and he also was named the meet’s top 3-year-old Thoroughbred.
Other Quarter Horse meet awards went to American Runaway (top 2-year-old), a gray colt by Ocean Runaway racing for Sammy Martinez, Johnny Martinez, and Bobby D. Cox who won the June 13, $500,000 Ruidoso Futurity (G1) and ran second in the Rainbow Futurity (G1) on July 25; All American Gold Cup (G3) winner Noconi (top older horse), a homebred 5-year-old Mr Jess Perry owned by R.D. Hubbard and John T.L. Jones Jr.; Clyde Woerner’s Gone To The Mountain (top distance horse), a homebred 5-year-old Panther Mountain stallion and winner of the July 31, 870-yard Master Salls Handicap; and PB And Crackers (top New Mexico-bred), a homebred 4-year-old gelding by The Down Side who won both of his starts, including the August 1, $50,000 Zia Handicap (RG2) for owners R.D. Hubbard and his grandson, Shaun Hubbard.
In addition to Skip A Smile, the following Thoroughbreds won meet honors – Paul B. Thomason’s Quiet Again (top older horse), a homebred 5-year-old Real Quiet gelding who won Monday’s 1 1/16-mile, $50,000 Ruidoso Thoroughbred Championship; and Helen Nave’s Comicsperfectstorm (top 2-year-old and top New Mexico-bred), a homebred bay daughter of Comic Genius whose two wins during the meet included the August 1, $198,322 Rio Grande Senorita Futurity (R).
Ruidoso Downs ended its 2010 meet on Monday, attracting a crowd of 21,402 for a 12-race program that included the $1.9-million All American Futurity (G1).