Sunday, January 30, 2011
Freddie Martinez rode Strike It Quick to a three-quarter length victory in Saturday's Grade 3, $50,000 KOFX Radio Handicap at Sunland Park.
Prepped by Jose Gonzalez Sr. for owner Jesse Hernandez Consulting Inc., Strike It Quick covered 350 yards in :16.797 while earning a 103 speed index and his ninth win in 24 starts.
Strike It Quick was bred in Utah by Lee Giles and Steve McIntyre, and the gray 5-year-old gelding is one of 78 stakes winners from 16 crops sired by Royal Quick Dash, a 22-year-old son of all-time leading sire First Down Dash and the AQHA champion 2-year-old colt in 1991. A full brother to three Grade 1 winners, including champion First Sovereign, Royal Quick Dash has sired 1,085 starters and the earners of more than $18.7 million, including his top earner, two-time champion AB What A Runner. He is owned by Sandra Soto, and he stood the 2010 season for a $5,567 fee at Genetic Jump LTDA in Itapetininga, Brazil.
Strike It Quick is also one of six winners from seven starters produced by Dreamit, a 13-year-old daughter of the Special Effort stallion Proudest Effort and winner of the 2000 Utah Classic Futurity (RG2) at Laurel Brown Racetrack near Salt Lake City. The gelding's half brother, the Dashin Bye gelding Screamin Bye, was a finalist in the 2006 Rainbow Futurity (G1) at Ruidoso Downs.
Strike It Quick's second dam, the winning Deregulate mare Do Run De Run, ran third in the 1992 Dash For Destiny Derby at Wyoming Downs and Elko County Derby during the Elko County Fair meet in Nevada. A 1989 Utah-bred foal, Do Run De Run is a half sister to two stakes winners, including Magnificent Effort, a Proudest Effort gelding who won the '95 PCQHRA Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Los Alamitos.
The $30,000 winner's share of the KOFX Radio Handicap pushed Strike It Quick's bankroll to $217,622. The gelding's stakes record includes a three-quarter length win in the 350-yard, $55,360 James Isaac Hobbs (G2) at Zia Park on September 18. He also ran second in last year's Higheasterjet Handicap (G3) at Ruidoso Downs and the 2009 Manuel Lujan Handicap (G3) at The Downs at Albuquerque.
On December 30, Strike It Quick broke Sunland Park's 350-yard track record when he won a $40,000 allowance sprint in :16.642.
Rylees Boy, the 19-10 favorite, ran second and was followed by Streakin Cherry, Hez The Don, Corona For The Lady, Aroyal Fantasy, Anywhere Bully, Kays Gunslinger, Knight Tori, and Pistoli.
A 6-year-old bay gelding by Heza Motor Scooter, Rylees Boy earned $10,500 for owner Gerardo Ochoa. Rylees Boy has earned $398,833, and his 14 wins in 31 starts include last year's 440-yard, $112,410 AQHA Sunland Challenge Championship (G1), and the 2009 AQHA West/Southwest Challenge Championship (G3) at Turf Paradise.
Streakin Cherry finished one length behind Strike It Quick while making his first start in 16 months. Racing for Juan Esquivel, who claimed the 6-year-old Streakin La Jolla gelding for $15,000 in January 2008, Streakin Cherry has banked $151,395 from 15 starts, and his six victories include the 2009 Refrigerator Handicap (G1) on a sloppy track at Lone Star Park and All American Gold Cup (G3) at Ruidoso Downs.