Karma Cha Ching and jockey Nestor Duran will seek their third consecutive victory when they break from post nine in Thursday's $40,000-added La Villita Stakes at Retama Park.

© Jack Coady Photography

By Louanne Wainscott, StallioneSearch

SAN ANTONIO, TX–JUNE 20, 2026–The 2026 summer racing season at Retama Park kicks off Thursday evening with an eight-race card starting at 6:45 p.m. Opening night will feature three stakes events, including the $40,000-added Silver Bullet Stakes, the $40,000-added La Villita Stakes, and the $12,000-added TPHBA Paint Horse Juvenile Stakes.

The sixth race will feature the $40,000 Silver Bullet Stakes, a 330-yard race for Texas-bred 3-year-olds. A field of seven sophomores is scheduled to break from the gate at approximately 9:03 p.m.

Leading the field from the rail is Feenom, who enters off a strong runner-up effort in the $56,000 Leon Bard Memorial Stakes. That performance served as ideal preparation for Thursday's assignment and positions the colt as a major contender. Owned by HEH Holdings, LLC, Feenom has won four races, with three second-place finishes and one third-place finish in ten career starts, earning $79,509. The colt was purchased for $46,000 at the TQHA Yearling Sale.

The Texas-bred son of This Is an Eagle, out of the Azoom mare Zoomin N Celebrating, was bred by Debbie Eller. Trainer Isidro Hinojosa has him ready for his seasonal stakes test and will send him out with jockey Luis L. Vivanco aboard.

The seventh race shifts the focus to the paint division with the $12,000-added TPHBA Paint Horse Juvenile Stakes. Eight 2-year-olds are entered to run 330 yards at approximately 9:30 p.m.

Cholula H enters the race after a strong effort against top company in the Grade 2 $74,900 Colors of Houston Futurity, where she finished second. Earlier this season, she was third in her trial for the Colors of Houston Futurity and fourth in her career debut. The filly has finished on the board in all three starts, earning $15,204 for Guerras Racing Stables.

The daughter of Chilitos and the Fdd Dynasty mare Im Marbella was bred in Texas by Jorge Haddad. Trainer Gilberto Gonzalez will saddle the promising juvenile from post two, with jockey Jose R. Herbert returning to the irons.

The featured event of the evening arrives in the eighth race, the $40,000-added La Villita Stakes for Texas-bred 3-year-old fillies. Ten sophomores are entered to run 330 yards at approximately 9:57 p.m.

Among the headliners is Karma Cha Ching, who has emerged as one of the state's top sophomore fillies. The filly enters the race with a two-race winning streak, highlighted by a gate-to-wire victory in the $176,250 Sam Houston Oaks. She has won three races and finished second once in ten career starts, earning $99,702.

Bred in Texas by Sarah Huskey, Karma Cha Ching is by Pa Cha Ching and out of the Tiny's First Corona mare Martha's First Corona. Trainer Esteban Rubio will send her from post nine, with jockey Nestor Duran aboard, as the pair looks for a third consecutive victory.

Opening night at Retama Park brings together many of the state's leading Texas-bred sophomores and a competitive field of Paint Horse juveniles. With three stakes races on the card and several proven stakes performers returning to action, the summer meet kicks off with a program that should offer an early look at some of the top horses expected to compete throughout the season.

The races at Retama Park can be watched on Q-Racing Video.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Would you like more industry news delivered directly to your inbox? Click here to sign up.