Saturday afternoon at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds will feature an eight-race card beginning at 1:00 p.m., highlighted by the $30,000-added GCFA Paint and Appaloosa Maturity Stakes.

© Gillespie County Fair

By Louanne Wainscott, StallioneSearch

FREDERICKSBURG, TX–JULY 17, 2026–Saturday afternoon at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds will feature an eight-race card beginning at 1:00 p.m., highlighted by the $30,000-added GCFA Paint and Appaloosa Maturity Stakes. A talented field of 10 Paints and Appaloosas, ages three and up, will sprint 350 yards in race six at approximately 3:05 p.m., showcasing many of the region's top dual-registered runners.

VP Dash for Texas has been installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite. The talented dual-registered gelding enters maturity after facing Quarter Horse competition in the Retama Park Derby Trials, where he finished a solid third. Although still seeking his first win of the season, the Texas-bred has hit the board in all five of his 2026 starts, demonstrating remarkable consistency against tough company.

His sophomore campaign follows an outstanding two-year-old season that featured a victory in the Ochoa Stakes against Quarter Horses and a qualification for the Grade 3 Sam Houston Juvenile Challenge Stakes. He was also declared the winner of the 2025 Colors of the Alamo Paint and Appaloosa Futurity, which boosted his career earnings to $72,608.

Owned and bred in Texas by Victor R. Villarreal, VP Dash for Texas is a son of PYC Prize Time, out of the Dr Beduino mare GW Money Dash. Noe Rios trains the gelding, who will break from post five with Nestor Duran aboard.

Just an Eagle has been tabbed as the 7-2 second choice after a consistent sophomore campaign. The dual-registered three-year-old gelding enters the stakes off a determined one-half-length allowance victory, finishing with a strong late drive. He has finished on the board in all four starts this season and appears to be coming into the race in top form.

The Texas-bred son of This Is an Eagle is out of the Awesome Chrome mare Just Splashin and was bred by leading Paint breeder Sandra Garnett. Racing for Jesus A. Molina, Just an Eagle is conditioned by Joseph D. Manucy and will break from post three with Raul P. Hernandez Jr. in the saddle.

Saturday's featured maturity brings together an accomplished group of Paints and Appaloosas, many of whom have proven themselves against Quarter Horse competition. With a competitive field and several in-form contenders, the $30,000-added GCFA Paint and Appaloosa Maturity Stakes promises to be a highlight of the Gillespie County Fairgrounds meet.

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