Lipstick Promise, under jockey Froylan Ramirez, defeats Suzie Que (#1) and Passage Of A Woman I#7) in the $50,000 John Buchannan Memorial Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park Saturday.

© Coady Photography

HOUSTON, TX – JUNE 3, 2023 – The first of four stakes at Sam Houston on Saturday night kicked off with an upset in the $54,250 John Buchanan Memorial Stakes.

Lipstick Promise ($32.40) and jockey Froylan Ramirez closed well and were up in time to win the 350-yard event in :17.718 and earned a 98 speed index.

The stake was one of two memorial races honoring longtime Texas horsemen on the night of the feature race of the Quarter Horse meet, the $461,835 Sam Houston Futurity.

The field was restricted to 3-year-old Texas-bred fillies, earnings preferred. Lipstick Promise added the winner’s share of $32,550 to her lifetime total of $58,824.

Buchannan family present the winning connections of Lipstick Promise the John Buchanan Memorial Stakes trophy Saturday at Sam Houston Race Park. © Coady Photography

It was the first career stakes appearance for the lightly raced daughter of A Revenant, who is now three for six for trainer Kie Mushinski. 

Jerry Davis owns and bred the filly out of another Mushinski trainee, A Passionate Lady, by Demonstrative.

"John and I have been good friends since I started in the business, so I was glad to win this race," trainer Mushinski said after the race.  "This filly won her first two outs and then it was all costly mistakes. She's a big filly- 16 hands and she wants to run down the track, she put it all together tonight."

Suzie Que, with Victor Urieta, Jr. in the irons, enjoyed a mid-stretch lead on the inside and was passed late by the winner as the 2-1 second favorite. Juan Diaz, Jr. trains for owner Carlos Ponce.

Suzie Que was bred by Janet McKinnerney, by Apollitical Blood and out of the Tres Seis mare Seis Passes. She is two for eight lifetime with $32,307 in earnings. She debuted at Sam Houston and broke her maiden at Lone Star; Saturday marked her first career stakes placing.

Passage of a Woman dueled and finished third for trainer Martin Rodriguez and owner Victor Villarreal. Francisco Giles was in the irons.

Alejandro Moya bred the filly by This Cartel is Cold, out of the Panther Mountain mare Mountain Woman.

Passage of a Woman has earned $39,818 in eight career starts, including a third-place finish in the TQHA Sale Juvenile Stakes last summer. Prior to the John Buchanan Memorial, she qualified to the Sam Houston Derby (G3).

Completing the field were Dakota Gurl, Lj Luna Llena, Five Bar Willie, Essential Kiss and Flight Song. Tiffany Twistedd was scratched.

The race honored Texas horseman John Buchanan, whose career in racing spanned three decades and multiple stakes wins, including the 1987 All American Futurity (G1). Buchanan passed away in 2020. His wife, Iris, and daughter, Amanda, presented the trophy to the winning connections.