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Free Thought Breaks All-Time Consecutive Wins Record
Ricardo Moreno gives Free Thought a hug after another victory, as Haley Moreno stands at the lead.

© Julie Brewster
Free Thought Breaks All-Time Consecutive Wins Record

By Ty Wyant

Q RACING—June 12, 2020—It's hard enough for a horse to win just one race and many end their career as maidens. It's even more difficult for maiden winners to return in their next race to win again at a higher level.

Now, consider a horse who has set a new American Quarter Horse record of 17 consecutive wins. That horse is Charles Stojan's Free Thought, a 9-year-old distance specialist who races in Alberta. His winning streak began June 10, 2017, and stretches to his most recent start on September 28, 2019.

The previous record holder was champion Snowbound Superstar with 15 consecutive wins. He set his record back in 2009.

There are three horses with 14-race winning streaks, including 1954 world champion Josie's Bar, along with Destiny Drummer and Pies Royal Request. Checking in with 13-race winning streaks are Lucky Ms Brisk and Packin The Fire. There are 10 horses with 12 consecutive wins. This stellar group includes Charger Bar, Dashs Dream, Special Effort and Tiny's Gay. Another 12 horses raced to 11 wins in a row, including Easy Date and Sgt Pepper Feature.

No matter the level of competition, to reach the level of double-digit winning streaks is remarkable. There are just too many things that can go awry, especially in Quarter Horse racing. The horse can have a poor start, get bumped and cut off, or just have a bad day.

Free Thought had a history of getting poor starts. "I just hope that he gets a good break," trainer William Leech said. "He figured it out last year."

But no matter what has happened in his races for the past three years, Free Thought has found a way to win.

Free Thought, under jockey Ricardo Moreno, got his 17th career win in the Century Downs Classic last fall.
© Coady Photo Ltd.
Leech is based in Stirling, Alberta, a town of about 1,000 residents located 25 miles north of the Montana border.

A Dr. Ed Allred-bred gelding by Stel Corona and out of Allred's stakes winner and PCQHRA Breeders Futurity third-place runner Just Think, Free Thought was claimed by Stojan from Allred for $16,000 out of a non-winners-of-two race at Los Alamitos at the end of his 2-year-old year. He was shipped to Leech and has found his winning home in Alberta. His connections affectionately call their horse "Big Ed" in his breeder's honor.

The gelding has the advantage now in that he goes to the front from the start and doesn't need to deal with traffic.

The streak almost ended in his second win of the streak back in 2017. He was running on the half-mile bullring at Lethbridge, Alberta, and drew the outside post position. He would need to get a good start and then deal with the tight turn at Lethbridge. He couldn't get to the front and was forced to come from a striking position.

"He covered a lot of ground and he caught them," Leech said. The winning margin was a scant head, by far the shortest winning margin of his winning streak.

The winning streak will likely end this year, either by a defeat or retirement.

"This will probably be his last year," Leech said. "Retiring him is in the back of our minds right now."

Currently, Free Thought has amassed 27 total wins in his 49-race career and earnings of $109,728. He will probably have three or four starts this year, according to Leech. He is on schedule to make his 2020 debut in July at Evergreen Park at Grand Prairie, Alberta.

"He's close to being ready now. We breezed him the other day," Leech said.

Free Thought, along with the other 15-20 horses in the Leech stable, was rested and allowed to be a horse after the Alberta circuit ended last fall. "The first of February we started to leg him up," Leech said. "I like to get 120 days on him before he runs."

Leech, 59, has been training for 40 years and that experience shows with his handling of Free Thought.

"I just take it one race at a time and not think about the record," Leech said. "I kinda train him between a Quarter Horse and a Thoroughbred. He loves to train. He likes to jog around the track once and look at everything before he gallops. He also wants to be the first horse out of the barn in the morning."

Leech is joined by his daughter, Haley, and her husband, jockey Ricardo Moreno, in the care of the stable. Haley and Ricardo became parents on March 15 with the birth of their daughter Ariana, who was recently held aboard Free Thought. So, the next generation is starting.

Free Thought has a fanbase in Alberta and has been the strong favorite in each of his races. The last time he went off at odds higher than even money was back in October of 2017.

Haley is Free Thought's biggest fan and gets nervous before each of his races. "I just love him," Haley said. "He's the best."

Now Free Thought is the best at winning consecutive races.

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