Jess My Hocks is one of two homebreds racing for Tom and Kathy McNally.

© Coady Photography

Q RACING—OCTOBER 20, 2020—It’s hard enough to get a horse qualified into the prestigious Bank of America Challenge Championships, which are October 24 at The Downs at Albuquerque.

It’s a rare feat for someone to get two horses qualified into it.

But how about getting two homebreds into the prestigious event?

That’s what Tom and Kathy McNally have done with their horses Charlies Fury, who is set to contest the Bank of America Challenge Championship (G1) and Jess My Hocks, who is set to contest the Adequan Derby Challenge Championship (G3).

Both geldings are out of their homebred mare Jess Charlena.

Tom and Kathy met at a Chickasha, Oklahoma, rodeo more than 40 years ago, and married a few years later. They raised their daughters, Mandy and LeeAnna, with horses, but when the young women moved out, they were left with empty pastures at their Guthrie, Oklahoma, farm.

Since they were in the center of Quarter Horse racing country, they decided to fill the pasture with a couple of racing broodmares.

In 2007, they bought Charlenas Cleat, a 1994 daughter of Dashing Cleat, from her breeder Charlie Hendrix of Checotah, Oklahoma. That mare produced for them their only current broodmare, Jess Charlena, a 2008 daughter of Take Off Jess.

As a 2-year-old, Jess Charlena was chased by dogs and degloved both of her front legs from the knee to the fetlock.

“It was ugly, but we nursed her back,” Kathy remembers. “She has some ugly scars.”

Overcoming that horrendous injury, the mare made five career starts, including wins at both Will Rogers and Remington Park before they brought her home.

Tom does careful research to choose the stallions they cross to their mare. The babies are raised at home before being sent out for their race career.

Crossed to Furyofthewind, Jess Charlena produced her first starter, Charlies Fury, who is named in honor of his granddam’s breeder.

Charlies Fury was stakes-placed by his fourth career start and last year was second in the Adequan Derby Challenge Championship (G3). He has earned $234,279 in 16 career starts.

Jess My Hocks is Jess Charlena's second foal, and is by champion Kiss My Hocks.

“His nickname is ‘Bull’ because he may not have a lane when he gets out of the gate, but he’ll make his own lane,” Kathy says. “He bulls his way through.”

He has won six of 11 starts and earned $115,142, including his most recent start in winning the Adequan Will Rogers Derby Challenge by an authoritative 3-˝ lengths.

“I knew when he put it all together he was really going to do a great job,” Kathy says. “He got out good and had a lane and never slowed down. It was a really beautiful race to watch.”

“They’re pretty special," Kathy said of their homebreds.

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