Flamazoom winning at the Hipodromo.

Mario Becerra/Hipodromo de las Americas

Q-RACING JOURNAL—MARCH 10, 2015— On Sunday, Haras Ixbiapan’s Flamazoom won the 350-yard, $21,021 AQHA Hipodromo Maiden Challenge at theHipodromo de las Americas in Mexico City, Mexico. While it was not an official stakes, it is part of a bigger opportunity for horses – the Bank of America Racing Challenge.

The conditions for the Maiden Challenge races specify that the races are for Challenge-enrolled horses that are 3 years old and older that are maidens at the time of the nomination date. This marks Flamazoom’s first victory in three career starts. He made one start as a 2-year-old, then returned as a 3-year-old for the Maiden Challenge trials. It is offered in addition to the regional and championship races and the Bonus Challenge races. There are currently 18 Maiden Challenge races scheduled. Visit the Challenge page for further information or call the Challenge hotline at 877-222-7223.

The Maiden Challenge program has given a solid start to late-maturing, Challenge-enrolled horses. The Snowbound (TB) gelding Snowboundbeast, for example, had one start as a 2-year-old, then returned as a 3-year-old to take a maiden race and then the 2013 Rocky Mountain Turf Club Maiden Challenge. The gelding owned by Dean Frey would soon add his first official stakes, the Adequan Evergreen Derby Challenge (in track record time), and was second in the $202,000 Adequan Derby Challenge Championship (G2) and $100,000 Spencer Childers California Breeders’ Championship (RG1). He has earned $103,411 to date, of which about 70 percent has been earned in Challenge competition.

Cesar Rosales’ Dash Master Jess would make two starts as a 2-year-old, then return at Hialeah as a 3-year-old to finish second in the 2013 Hialeah Maiden Challenge. The son of Mr Jess Perry would go on to win three stakes, including the Bank of America Sam Houston Challenge (G2), and retired with earnings of $275,697.

Flamazoom is by Azoom out of the Corona Cartel mare Behold Corona. He was bred in Texas by Enrique Carrion of Veracruz, Mexico.

Azoom is a 13-year-old son of Shazoom out of the Beduino (TB) mare Crystalinas. The dark bay stallion was bred by American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame member Jerry Windham. His sire has sired the earners of more than $23.2 million in his career. His dam has produced 12 winners from 15 starters, led by Azoom but also including Bills Last (by Shazoom, $371,381), Vrrroom (by Shazoom, $161,593) and Special Crys (by Special Effort, $95,190).

Azoom raced only as a 2-year-old, but that year was a better career than many horses have in a lifetime. He began it at Hipodromo de la Americas, where he won four of five starts, including the Ford Mexico Challenge. He then came to Sam Houston in Texas to finish his career, where he won the Sam Houston Futurity (G1), Texas Classic Futurity (G1) and TQHA Sale Futurity (RG1), as well as finishing second in the TQHA Sires Cup Futurity (RG2) and setting a 400-yard track record at Sam Houston. He retired with a 14-11-1-1 record and earnings of $738,136.

He has sired 221 winners from 356 starters and 23 stakes winners with more than $6.8 million in earnings, led by Grade 1 winner Zoomin With Ease ($388,299). Owned by a syndicate, the stallion stands at Granada Farms at Wheelock, Texas.

Flamazoom’s dam is Behold Corona, a daughter of leading living sire Corona Cartel. The winning mare has two winners from two starters. She has a yearling by Azoom named EC Tiara.

Behold Corona comes from one of the great mare lines in sprint racing – her third dam is Dr. Ed Allred’s Seperate Ways. Behold Corona’s dam is the Raise A Secret mare Remake, an unraced Allred-bred who is out of stakes winner Making Merri, an earner of $59,182 and a stakes producer.

Seperate Ways is an AQHA Dam of Distinction and former Broodmare of the Year. Bred by Melvin Hatley, she is by Hempen (TB) and out of the Jet Deck mare Jet Together. A race winner, she made her mark as a broodmare. Her most important foal is leading sire and championSeparatist, a son of Chicks Beduino and earner of $889,044. She is also the dam of champion Way Maker (by Merridoc, $617,444) and stakes winner and sire Make It Anywhere (by First Down Dash, $411,006).

Her immediate family has also produced Grade 1 winner Kingman Kid ($531,365), The A List ($316,977), Snitcher ($261,181), Hulapai ($204,437), Oatman ($192,737), Old Girl ($161,534), In Despute ($148,916) and Glitter In My Face ($131,042).

Seperate Ways is a half sister to Making Up, dam of Forgive Him ($205,576), herself the dam of She Forgives ($135,337). Other notables from Jet Together’s family include Gulfstream Five ($259,319), Bridlewood ($191,359), Girl Secrets ($177,552), The Gap ($143,000) and Masherati B ($136,550).

So Flamazoom still has big horseshoes to fill, but he is certainly zoomin’ in the right direction.

AQHA News and information is a service of the American Quarter Horse Association. For more news and information, follow @AQHARacing on Twitter, watch the AQHA Racing Newscast and visit www.aqharacing.com.