Preview Racing


Flash Moonfire In Wide Open Mountain Top Futurity at Ruidoso Downs
Flash Moonfire, a $15,000 supplemental nominee to enter the trials, faces a contentious field in the $392,555 Mountain Top Futurity Saturday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs.

© Gay Harris / Ruidoso Downs
Flash Moonfire In Wide Open Mountain Top Futurity at Ruidoso Downs

RUIDOSO DOWNS, NM—JUNE 13, 2017—David Valdez’s Flash Moonfire, a $15,000 supplemental nominee to enter the trials, is the fastest qualifier against a contentious field in the $392,555 Mountain Top Futurity for quarter horses on Saturday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs.

The Mountain Top Futurity is for New Mexico-bred two-year-olds.

Also on Saturday’s program are the trials to the $48,510 Adequam Ruidoso Downs Derby (see related story).

First post time is 1 p.m. The Mountain Top Futurity is the ninth race and the Adequan Ruidoso Downs Derby trials run as the sixth through the eighth races.

Flash Moonfire, a $27,000 Ruidoso sale purchase, has earned $33,149 from his first three starts and would pick up $164,873 with a win in the Mountain Top Futurity.

The Juan Esquivel-trained Flash Moonfire won the second of 12 Mountain Top Futurity trials by an easy one length and his time of :17.704 for 350 yards easily topped the qualifiers list.

A gelded son of First Moonflash, Flash Moonfire won his first start by more than two lengths while setting the fastest-qualifying time to the $362,965 New Mexican Spring Futurity, also for New Mexico-breds. He then sustained his only setback when he was fourth in the New Mexican Spring Futurity as the 1-2 favorite.

Oscar Cordova rides Flash Moonfire from the ninth post-position.

Jose Espinosa and Jill Giles’ Tempting Star Gazer finished third in the New Mexican Spring Futurity and then came back to win his maiden in his Mountain Top Futurity trial. Also by First Moonflash, he dominated his trial rivals by one-and-three-quarter lengths with the fourth-fastest time of :17.818.

Tempting Star Gazer is trained by Wes Giles, as is second-fastest qualifier Bigg Daddy.

Too For Two’s Bigg Daddy also won his maiden in his Mountain Top Futurity trial. The gelded son of second crop sire Big Daddy Cartel drew out to win by two-and-three-quarter lengths in his third career start. He won his trial in :17.794.

Adrian A. Ramos will ride Bigg Daddy with the 10th post-position.

Gary Hastack’s Daddys Blushing should be dangerous in the Mountain Top Futurity. The Jackie Riddle-trained gelding by Big Daddy Cartel is undefeated in three starts with his first two wins coming at Sam Houston Race Park against open company, not New Mexico-breds. He won his Sam Houston Futurity trial and then came back to win the $48,000 Sam Houston Juvenile by a neck.

Daddys Blushing easily handled his Mountain Top Futurity trial competitors. He won by one-and-one-quarter lengths with the fifth-fastest time of :17.838.

Francisco Calderon rides Daddys Blushing with the third post-position.

Leading New Mexico sire First Moonflash sired half the field for Saturday's RG3 race for state-breds.

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