Grade 1 winner RC Corona King returned to top form Saturday afternoon at Sunland Park, posting the fastest qualifying time in the trials for the West Texas Maturity (G3).

© Coady Media

By Emily Paulk, StallioneSearch

SUNLAND PARK, NM—MARCH 7, 2026—Grade 1 winner RC Corona King returned to top form Saturday afternoon at Sunland Park, posting the fastest qualifying time in the trials for the West Texas Maturity (G3) while seeking a repeat victory in the race he captured in 2024.

The six-year-old gelding stopped the clock in :19.422 for 400 yards while winning the second trial, posting a 91 speed index.

Owned by Jose R. Riojas, trained by Gerardo Quinonez and ridden by Sergio G. Dominguez, RC Corona King improved his career record to 29-9-6-4 while increasing his earnings to $711,539.

Bred in New Mexico by Baldemar Parra, RC Corona King is by leading sire Eye Am King, whose more than 150 winners have produced $13.3 million in earnings. His top runner is All American Futurity (G1) winner King Of The Tide ($1,595,087).

RC Corona King is out of the Deefirst mare Classyoddsofdeefirst. The accomplished gelding entered the trials off a runner-up finish in the Championship at Sunland Park (G1) and boasts an extensive stakes record that includes victories in the Grade 1 Downs at Albuquerque Fall Championship and the New Mexico Classic Championship, along with wins in the Grade 2 Red or Green Stakes and Zia Stakes. He also captured the Grade 3 West Texas Maturity in 2024.

Bigg Picture recorded the second-fastest qualifying time after finishing second to RC Corona King in the same trial with a clocking of :19.487, posting a 90 speed index.

The five-year-old gelding is owned by Uno Menos, trained by Wesley T. Giles and ridden by Noe Garcia Jr. A $120,000 graduate of the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale, Bigg Picture was bred by MJ Farms.

He is by leading sire Big Daddy Cartel, whose more than 450 winners have produced over $29.5 million in progeny earnings. Bigg Picture is out of champion and Grade 1 winner Astica ($411,623).

The gelding is a full brother to stakes winners Fanncee ($207,078) and Wente ($149,779). His second dam is champion and Grade 1 winner Alice K White ($276,837), a half-sister to stakes winners Kendall Jackson ($409,244), Jesse Lane ($304,123), and Zuccardi ($146,749).

Bigg Picture now holds a record of 23-6-6-6 with earnings of $458,389. He entered the trials off a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Red or Green Stakes and concluded his 2025 campaign with back-to-back stakes victories in the Zia Park Championship (G1) and the Namehimastreaker New Mexico Classic Championship (G1).

Paradise Pete secured the third-fastest qualifying time after finishing third in the second trial, stopping the clock in :19.569, posting an 88 speed index.

The four-year-old gelding races for owner-breeder Stephen M. Harris and is trained by David M. Gomez-Barraza with Luis Martinez aboard.

Paradise Pete is by leading sire Flying Cowboy 123, whose first four crops have produced more than 230 winners and $17.3 million in progeny earnings. He is out of the Walk Thru Fire mare Fire Specialist, a winner and graded stakes finalist.

The gelding now owns a record of 15-4-2-2 with earnings of $92,146. Saturday’s trial marked his first start of 2026 after concluding his 2025 season with a victory in the AQRA Turf Paradise Open Derby.

The remaining order of qualifiers can be viewed HERE.

The ten fastest qualifiers from Saturday’s trials will return to Sunland Park for the $65,000-added West Texas Maturity (G3) final scheduled for March 28.

*Will post race photo when it becomes available. 

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