Friday, December 28, 2012
Our Choice, a 7-year-old Desert God campaigned by Stable HMA and one of the best claims in the history of New Mexico racing, is the 7-2 morning-line favorite in the 1 1/16-mile, $85,000 Albert Dominguez Memorial Handicap (R) for state-breds at Sunland Park on Sunday.
Our Choice was claimed by his current connections, including trainer Justin Evans, for $25,000 at Sunland Park on December 27, 2011. Since then, the gelding has won seven of 11 races – including four stakes – and has earned $283,561.
Our Choice is coming off of a second-place finish to Nuggets Please in the December 9, 6 1/2-furlong Johnie L. Jamison Handicap (R) at Sunland. Ry Eikleberry will ride the gelding from post 9 on Sunday.
Lisa M. Rehburg's On Down The Road will be making his first start since October 28, when the 4-year-old Desert God gelding rallied for a 1 3/4-length victory in the 1-mile, $180,000 Rocky Gulch New Mexico Cup Championship (R) at Zia Park. On Down The Road has banked $189,384 from eight outs this season, and he brings a two-race win streak into the Dominguez Memorial.
On Down The Road is one of four contenders from the barn of trainer Joel Marr. One of the others, Michael C. Stinson's Attitude E Racer, was campaigned at Zia Park last fall, where he earned a 1 1/2-length win in the 6-furlong, $170,000 New Mexico Cup Sprint Championship (R) on October 28.
The Albert Dominguez Memorial Handicap will be the ninth race on Sunland Park's 11-race program, which includes the Grade 1, 400-yard Championship at Sunland Park for Quarter Horses. Scheduled post time for the Dominguez Memorial is 3:40 p.m.
The complete lineup, in post position order including jockey and weight assignments and morning-line odds – Desert Gamble (Justin Shepherd, 117), 12-1; Sapello Cantador (Ricardo Jaime, 115), 20-1; Starlight Mesa (Macario Rodriguez, 111), 30-1; Brother Louie (Enrique Gomez, 118), 8-1; Cross Chris Run (Ken Tohill, 121), 9-2; Spinning Touch (Luis Rodriguez, 116), 20-1; Doms Thunder (Francisco Giles, 112), 15-1; On Down The Road (Carlos Madeira, 122), 5-1; Our Choice (Ry Eikleberry, 123), 7-2; Zenon's Star (Jimmy Ray Coates, 117), 6-1; Attitude E Racer (Isaias Enriquez, 121), 6-1; and Nuggets Please (Derek Bell, 121), 5-1.