Preview Racing


Eagle Jazz, Uptown Dynasty In Strong Trials To $1-Million Rainbow Futurity
Eagle Jazz (#3) and Uptown Dynasty (#5) finish in a dead heat in the Grade 1, $1-million Ruidoso Futurity. They each return in the Rainbow Futurity trials.

© Gay Harris / Ruidoso Downs
Eagle Jazz, Uptown Dynasty In Strong Trials To $1-Million Rainbow Futurity

RUIDOSO DOWNS, NM—JULY 2, 2017—The two horses that finished in a dead heat for the win in the Grade 1, $1-million Ruidoso Futurity — Eagle Jazz and Uptown Dynasty — lead the two days of trials to the Grade 1, $1-million (est.) Rainbow Futurity on Friday and Saturday at Ruidoso Downs.

The horses with the five-fastest times from each day of 400-yard trials advance to the Rainbow Futurity on July 23. The horses with the next five-fastest times on each day of trials gain priority to race in the $100,000 Rainbow Juvenile, also on July 23.

There will be 12 trials each day with a first post time of 1 p.m.

Five of the top-10 ranked two-year-olds in the weekly AQHA national poll are in the Rainbow Futurity trials. Eagle Jazz is ranked number one, Uptown Dynasty is ranked number four, Sam Houston Futurity winner This Is An Eagle is ranked number five and Kindergarten winner Fire And Sass is ranked number seven.

Eagle Jazz races in the third trial on Friday, Uptown Dynasty starts in the third trial on Saturday, This Is An Eagle drew into the fifth trial on Friday and Fire And Sass meets Eagle Jazz in the third trial on Friday.

Fire And Sass won the Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity at Los Alamitos and makes his Ruidoso Downs’ debut in the Rainbow Futurity trials. © Scott Martinez
The sole supplemental nominee is Suenos Dineros, whose connections paid $30,000 to enter the trials. He is in the ninth trial on Saturday. The Bodacious Dash gelding is the ninth-ranked two-year-old in the nation.

Juan Medina’s homebred Eagle Jazz and Melvin Neugebauer’s Uptown Dynasty raced to the second dead heat for the win in the 24-year history of the 350-yard Ruidoso Futurity. Okey Dokey Fantasy and Saint Shackleton finished on even terms in 2006.

Eagle Jazz had to fight every step of the Ruidoso Futurity while Uptown Dynasty ran a near-perfect race for a young horse.

Starting from the third post position in the Ruidoso Futurity, Eagle Jazz stumbled at the start and his nose was only several feet from the ground after his first stride. When he regained his composure, and started running he was more than one length behind the leaders, possibly two lengths. However, he had a clear path in front of him.

Meanwhile, Uptown Dynasty had a widening lane when he left the fifth post position. He was on the lead and slightly drifted out as field came to the grandstand.

By that point, Eagle Jazz was making up ground with each stride and drew even with Uptown Dynasty at the finish line. Each horse galloped out with vigor after the race and looked like more distance will not be an issue.

Eagle Jazz, trained by Judd Kearl, came to Ruidoso Downs after a successful spring campaign at Remington Park in Oklahoma City. The son of One Dashing Eagle won his first two outs in convincing fashion and then was beaten by only a head in the $913,850 Remington Park Oklahoma-bred Futurity. That is his only defeat from five starts.

He made his first Ruidoso Downs start during the second day of Ruidoso Futurity trials and won his trial by two lengths with the day’s quickest time of :17.874 for 350 yards.

Rodrigo Sigala Vallejo was aboard Eagle Jazz in each of his Ruidoso Downs starts and retains the mount in the Rainbow Futurity trials.

Suenos Dineros won the West Texas Futurity at Sunland Park and is a $30,000 supplemental nominee to the Rainbow Futurity trials. © Coady Phtography
JGA Racing Stables, Inc.’s Fire And Sass makes Friday’s third trial a confrontation with Eagle Jazz. The Walk Thru Fire-sired gelding won the $304,000 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity at Los Alamitos by one-half length two starts ago. He then was a non-qualifying second in his Ed Burke Million Futurity trial.

Eduardo Nicascio, who was up for the Kindergarten win, gets the riding assignment from trainer Juan Aleman.

Uptown Dynasty is less experienced than Eagle Jazz with three starts, however has learned his lessons well for trainer Wes Giles. He was second in a Sam Houston Race Park maiden race while making his career debut on April 7 and then traveled to Ruidoso Downs.

A gelding by Mr Jess Perry, Uptown Dynasty made his Ruidoso Downs debut in the first race of the summer season at Ruidoso Downs, the first Ruidoso Futurity trial on the first of two days of 350-yard Ruidoso Futurity trials. He won that trial by one-and-one-half lengths and his time of :18.142 (with an eight-mph headwind) was the day’s third-fastest time.

Jockey Cipriano Uscanga Vidana has handled Uptown Dynasty in each of his three starts and has the mount in the Rainbow Futurity trials.

Mary Thompson’s This Is An Eagle Makes his first local appearance in the Rainbow Futurity trials after two starts at Sam Houston Race Park.

The Jackie Riddle-trained This Is An Eagle made the most of those two starts with two wins. He established the fastest time on the second of two days of trials to the Grade 2, $483,600 Sam Houston Futurity when he made his first start. The son of One Famous Eagle backed up that debut with a one-half length win in the Sam Houston Futurity as the 6-5 favorite. This Is An Eagle was named horse of the meet at Sam Houston Race Park.

Francisco Calderon rode This Is An Eagle in those two Sam Houston Race Park starts and is aboard again.

Victor Lozano’s Suenos Dineros earned his way into the Rainbow Futurity by covering the $30,000 supplemental fee with $113,503 in career earnings from two starts, each at Sunland Park.

Suenos Dineros, a gelding by Bodacious Dash, has done everything asked on him in those two starts. In his first start he set the fastest-qualifying time to the Grade 2, $230,100 West Texas Futurity and then he won the West Texas Futurity by a neck as the 8-5 favorite.

Trainer Shae Cox will have regular rider Jose Luis Enriquez on Suenos Dineros.

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