Monday, February 06, 2012
First Corona Call, a homebred 5-year-old gelding by Southern Corona racing for Richard R. Shearer, is one of four New Mexico-bred runners entered in Friday's West Texas Maturity (G2) trials at Sunland Park.
First Corona Call will be making his first start since December 23, when he scored a one-length victory in a 350-yard second-level allowance race for state-breds at Sunland. The gelding has won six of 18 outs and has earned $444,488, and his record includes a second-place finish in the 2009 Dash For Cash Futurity (G1) at Lone Star Park and a third-place run in champion Runnning Brook Gal's All American Futurity (G1).
First Corona Call is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the last of the three 400-yard trials.
The other New Mexico-breds entered in the trials are Felipe Flores' Special Vartanash and Valle Guadiana Corporation's Yayo, and Eric Strawn's Injun Toole. A 5-year-old stallion by the late Favorite Trick (TB), Yayo won three state-bred allowance races last year, including two during the Ruidoso Downs meet.
A total of 25 aged sprinters are entered in the West Texas Maturity trials. The top 10 qualifiers will meet in the $65,000-added final on Saturday, March 3.