Shiny Cowgirl set the fastest time in the Firecracker Derby Trials at Delta Downs with Jorge Javier Garcia aboard

© Hodges Photography / Shalyn Lewis

By H. David Smith, StallioneSearch

VINTON, LA—JUNE 13, 2026—Shiny Cowgirl posted the fastest qualifying time Saturday night in the trials for the Grade 3 Firecracker Derby at Delta Downs, leading a field of 10 qualifiers into the July 4 final.

The Firecracker Derby final will be contested at 400 yards and offers a purse of $149,670 for 3-year-old Quarter Horses.

Saturday's three trial races were run at 350 yards over a fast racing surface. According to the official qualifying list, Shiny Cowgirl secured the top spot after stopping the timer in 17.587 while defeating Cowboy Reason Mv by one-half length in the second of three trials.

Owned by Luis Armando Castellanos and Alfonso Rangel and trained by Santiago Villaseca, Shiny Cowgirl is a Texas-bred daughter of champion Tempting Dash out of Rise N Shine Cowgirl by Apollitical Blood. Jorge Javier Garcia was aboard the Simmons Racing bred filly for the winning effort.

A finalist in the TQHA Sale Futurity(RG1) last year, Shiny Cowgirl has won three of eight career starts and earned $34,915.

Second-fastest qualifier Jj Jewelz was just five-thousandths of a second slower, recording a 17.592 clocking in the final trial. The Texas-bred filly by leading sire Favorite Cartel, out of Louisiana Jewels by Jess Louisiana Blue, races for JJ Sandoval Racing Stables. Josue Ponce trains the filly, and Ubaldo Luna had the riding assignment. Bobby D. Cox bred the filly in Texas.

Ocho Rojo secured the third-fastest qualifying mark with a 17.597 effort in the opening trial. The gelded son of Favorite Cartel out of Sizzling N Fast by Walk Thru Fire races for Florentino Leon and is trained by Ramiro Aboytes-Suarez. Ubaldo Luna also rode Ocho Rojo, who was bred in California by Juan Humberto Moya.

Making his first start since last year's Grade Dash For Cash Futurity(G2) at Lone Star Park, Ocho Rojo has earned $93,586. He was also fourth in the Sam Houston Futurity(G2) and a finalist in the Oklahoma Futurity(G2).

CLICK HERE for the complete list of qualifiers for the Firecracker Derby final.

Among the qualifiers, Ocho Rojo and Aj Big Cash were the highest-priced yearling purchases at $135,000 each.

The Firecracker Derby final is scheduled for July 4 at Delta Downs in Vinton, Louisiana.
 

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Delta Downs will conduct live racing next week, Wednesday through Saturday, with first post time on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 6:15 pm. The $200,000-added Lee Berwick Futurity trials will take place on Friday, and there is a special early post time of 5:45 pm on that night. There will be 11 Lee Berick trials on the card.

For more information about the season, visit the track’s website at www.deltadowns.com/race. Fans can also follow the track on Facebook and Twitter.

Delta Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel, a property of Boyd Gaming Corporation, is the premier racing and gaming entertainment venue in Vinton, LA. Delta Downs features a six-furlong oval track, 15,000 square feet of casino space, and more than 1,500 of the most popular slot machines. Amenities include two restaurants, chart-topping entertainment at the Delta Event Center, and the Delta Downs Sportsbook.

Delta Downs is located in Vinton, Louisiana, on Delta Downs Drive. From Lake Charles, take Exit 7, and from Texas, take Exit 4.

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