Preview Racing


Four Stakes on Retama Park’s Friday Program
Graded stakes winner Kas Tempting heads a field of eight Texas-bred sprinters entered in Friday’s 400-yard, $35,000 TQHA Classic Stakes (RG2) at Retama Park.

© Coady Photography
Four Stakes on Retama Park’s Friday Program

BY MICHAEL CUSORTELLI

SELMA, TX—JULY 22, 2019—Kas Tempting, a graded stakes winning 4-year-old son of champion Tempting Dash, heads a field of eight Texas-bred sprinters entered in Friday’s 400-yard, $35,000 TQHA Classic Stakes (RG2) at Retama Park.

Kas Tempting is trained by Josue Ponce for the Garza Laurel Partnership LLC. The stallion will be making his first start since May 11, when he scored an upset victory at odds of 15-1 in the 440-yard, $65,637 Bank of America Sam Houston Championship Challenge (G2) at Sam Houston Race Park.

Kas Tempting drew post 2 and will be ridden by Victor Urieta Jr.

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

  1. Krash Course (Eleazar Hernandez)
  2. Kas Tempting (Victor M. Urieta Jr.)
  3. Dashing Sweet Brujo (Luis Vivanco)
  4. Jess Rockin Thunder (Gaspar Garcia)
  5. This Is A Deal Too (Francisco Calderon)
  6. Mountain Holme (Noe Villatoro)
  7. Serendipity Rocks (Isaac Chapa)
  8. DM La Jolla (Eddie Sanchez)

Three other stakes will be contested at Retama Park on Friday. Reta Hamilton’s Jax Louisiana Game, a 5-year-old gelding by The Louisiana Cartel trained by Leon Bard, is one of nine state-bred middle-distance specialists entered in the 550-yard, $30,000 TQHA 550 Stakes (RG3). A $5,000 claimer during the 2018 Retama meet, Jax Louisiana Game is coming off of a second-place finish, 1 3/4 lengths behind winner Salados Man, in the 550-yard, $15,000 Tower of the Americas Stakes on July 5. The gelding drew the rail post and will be ridden by Francisco Calderon.

Heza Dash Faster, a stakes winner during the recently concluded Delta Downs meet in Louisiana, headds a field of eight in Friday’s 870-yard, $20,000 Benny Pennington Memorial Stakes. Trained by Jonathan Castaneda for owner Jose Carlos Hernandez, the 4-year-old Heza Fast Dash gelding is coming off of a three-quarter length victory in the 870-yard, $50,000 Live Oak Stakes (R) on July 6. Heza Dash Faster drew post 2 and will be ridden by Luis Vivanco.

Stormy Fisher’s SF Hot Pass drew post 4 for Friday’s 250-yard, $30,000 TQHA 250 Stakes (R). Trained by Leon Bard, the 6-year-old son of Ivory James will be shortening in distance off of his second-place finish, a neck behind winner Kas Tempting, in the 440-yard, $65,637 Bank of America Sam Houston Championship Challenge (G2) on May 11. Francisco Calderon will ride SF Hot Pass.

All Retama Park races can be seen at Q-RacingVideo.com.