Flyin Lion with her handler after winning the Merial Sun Downs Distaff .

© Ginny Harding Photo

Q-RACING JOURNAL—MAY 4, 2015— Enumclaw, Washington, residents Mike and Sherry Reardon’s homebred Flyin Lion booked an invitation to Texas with her half-length victory in Sunday’s $20,700 Merial Sun Downs Distaff Challenge.

The 5-year-old mare notched her second career stakes win in 18 starts and boosted her earnings to $35,037. She also earned a ticket to the Merial Distaff Challenge Championship (G1) at Lone Star Park. She has raced her entire career in the Pacific Northwest with a 110 career-high speed index, and saw her first career stakes win come in the 2013 Portland Meadows Fall Derby.

This lion is sired by another cat – specifically Panther Mountain – and out of the Rocket’s Magic mare Flaming Cynthia.

Panther Mountain is a 1999 son of the underrated Meter Me Gone, himself a champion son of The Signature who in only four crops sired the earners of more than $4.2 million.

Then named Attackometer, the nearly-black colt eventually named for one of the highest peaks in the Catskill mountains, was bought for $23,000 at the 2000 Ruidoso sale, but his buyer had a change of heart and put him through the 2001 January Mixed Sale. There he was snapped up – despite a suspicious ankle – for $7,500 by Guy Weimer of Montana, who got the horse started in his career.

Panther Mountain would go on to win or place in 19 of 26 starts and earned $459,921. Among his victories were the 2002 Los Alamitos Winter Derby (G1) and 2003 MBNA America Challenge Championship (G1) at Los Alamitos. He was named the sport’s champion aged stallion in 2003.

Now sold to Brazil, from eight crops Panther Mountain sired the earners of more than $10.6 million, including champion and world record setter Gone To The Mountain ($458,831).

Flaming Cynthia was foaled in 1992, and is a product of classic breeding. The Louisiana-bred was a race winner; in her second start she won a maiden and out ran a field that included eventual stakes-placed runners Send More Cash and She Wants Cash. She Wants Cash would go on to produce the nice stakes winner Cat Five Storm (by Panther Mountain, $149,985). Flaming Cynthia has produced two winners from two starters.

Flaming Cynthia’s sire is Rocket’s Magic, the stakes-winning, All American Futurity-placed inspiration for the movie “Casey’s Shadow.” Foaled in 1973, the sorrel was undefeated in six starts before finishing third behind Bugs Alive In 75 in that fateful All American. The Rocket Wrangler colt would go on, though, to sire 232 winners from 402 starters that earned more than $3.8 million.

Her dam is the Flaming Jet mare Ifihadaflame, who also had a 100 percent strike rate on producing race winners – she was 4-for-4. Her mama, Ifihada, was by the royally bred Mr Bruce. Mr Bruce was a product of crossing AQHA Hall of Fame members Three Bars (TB) andBarbara L.

Ifihada also produced Ifihadaflame’s full sister, the stakes winner Gotta Flame ($32,702). The Challenge regional races are now getting into full swing, and it looks like we already have a real fast cat on our hands.

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.