Preview Racing


Prairie Meadows Ends Quarter Horse Meet with Stakes Bonanza
Fastest qualifier Little Kool Belle will head a full field in in Saturday’s 350-yard, $251,514 Valley Junction Futurity at Prairie Meadows.

© Coady Photography
Prairie Meadows Ends Quarter Horse Meet with Stakes Bonanza

BY MICHAEL CUSORTELLI

ALTOONA, IA—OCTOBER 11, 2018—Fastest qualifier Little Kool Belle, a bay daughter of Pyc Paint Your Wagon racing for Leann J. Burns and trainer Stacy Charette-Hill, heads a field of 10 2-year-olds entered back in Saturday’s 350-yard, $251,514 Valley Junction Futurity at Prairie Meadows.

Little Kool Belle made her local debut with a 1 3/4-length victory in the fourth of five Valley Junction Futurity trials on September 29. The filly has earned $88,639 from four starts, and her resume includes a fourth-place finish, 2 1/2 lengths behind winner Sunnysyde, in the June 2, $1.025-million Heritage Place Futurity (G1) at Remington Park.

Little Kool Belle drew post 5 and will be ridden by Jorge Torres. Charette-Hill will send out two other Valley Junction Futurity finalists, including Miss Energy P, a stakes-placed Pyc Paint Your Wagon filly owned by Michael A. Pohl. Miss Energy P has won two of five starts and has banked $41,255, and her season record includes a second-place finish in the 350-yard, $146,000 Mystic Lake Northlands Futurity at Canterbury Park on July 8.

Miss Energy P drew post 7 and will be ridden by G.R. Carter Jr.

The complete lineup, in post position order including jockey assignments:

  1. Cartels High (Eddie Aceves)
  2. Thisbetterwork (Julian Serrano)
  3. Apollitical Mogul (Nakia Ramirez)
  4. Apollitical Doll (David E. Brown)
  5. Little Kool Belle (Jorge Torres)
  6. VF Wheely Favorite (Berkley Packer
  7. Miss Energy P (G.R. Carter Jr.)
  8. The Bald Eagle (Cristian Esqueda)
  9. Pamplonna (Bonifacio Quiroz)
  10. Aqua Flash (Roberto Valero)

Also on Saturday, Donald Cavenaugh’s Weetonas Lafawn is one of 10 sophomores entered back in the 400-yard, $123,191 Altoona Derby.

Campaigned at Remington Park last spring, Weetonas Lafawn scored victories in the 350-yard, $66,000 Mr Master Bug Stakes (R) on April 21, and 350-yard, $55,000 Jack Brooks Stakes (R) on May 28. The bay daughter of Valiant Hero drew post 5 and will be ridden by G.R. Carter.

The complete lineup, in post position order including jockey assignments:

  1. One Jess Streakin (Omar Reyes)
  2. Tempting Annee GL (Mario Delgado)
  3. Paint A Candy Cat (Bonifacio Quiroz)
  4. Walcott (Mario Salcedo)
  5. Weetonas Lafawn (G.R. Carter Jr.)
  6. Eagle Deluxe (Nakia Ramirez)
  7. High Valley Girl (Roberto Valero)
  8. First Of 15 (Cristian Esqueda)
  9. Vallerro (Ramiro Garcia)
  10. Hot Dam Bam A Lam (Lucas Constantin)

Six other stakes will be contested at Prairie Meadows on Saturday. Alfredo Botello’s Ferrari James heads a field of 10 aged sprinters entered in the 440-yard, $45,000 Two Rivers Stakes (G3). Ferrari James will be stretching out in distance off of his neck victory in the 400-yard, $45,000 Keokuk Stakes (G3) on September 15. The 5-year-old Ivory James gelding drew post 5 and will be ridden by Jonathan Dominguez for trainer Alfredo Botello.

Distance specialists will be featured in Saturday’s 870-yard, $25,000 Covered Bridges Stakes (G3). Ramon Trejo’s Streak Jase, an 870-yard stakes winner during the Arapahoe Park summer meet, drew post 7 and will be ridden by Cerapio Figueroa for trainer Zachary Quesada. The 7-year-old Streak And Dash gelding has won his last two starts, including the 870-yard, $15,000 Izyk 870 Stakes at Arapahoe on July 22.

The other stakes on Prairie Meadows closing-night card are the 350-yard, $60,000 Future of Iowa Stakes (R) for fillies and mares; the 400-yard, $60,000 Terrace Hill Stakes (R) for 3-year-olds and older; the 400-yard, $121,850 Polk County Derby (R) for Iowa-bred 3-year-olds; and the 350-yard, $149,476 Jim Bader Futurity (R) for Iowa-bred juveniles.

All Prairie Meadows races can be seen at Q-RacingVideo.com.