BY JIM WELLS
Occasionally all you need to know about a race is the history of the right horse, its past performances naturally, but also heritage and most importantly the intuition of the owner.
A conversation with Canterbury’s champion quarter horse owner Brenda Reiswig would have revealed everything necessary before Sunday’s $72,300 Gopher State Futurity. As she examined her fluctuating emotions in the days approaching the race, one thing stood out:
Royal Cash Flash, is a daughter of Seis The Royal Cash, who won the same race in 2013 and broke from the No. 1 hole, just as Royal Cash was about to do.
“Do you really need any more information than that,” Brenda wondered. “I just had such a feeling,” she said.
Royal Cash, incidentally, also had the best qualifying time in the 10-horse field, 17.74.
“She did it. She did it, didn’t she,” Reiswig said, awaiting the arrival of Royal Cash and rider Jorge Torres in the winner’s enclosure.
She had indeed, with room to spare, with a time of 17.59.
Even Mason Lincoln, assistant to trainer Clinton Crawford, had been informed of the winner’s connection to another winner of the same race.
By Reiswig, of course.
There was no way for Reiswig to have known, but some of the riders discussed racing conditions on Sunday and how the track had been sealed perfectly, with nothing of concern about any of the lanes, including the rail.
Sometimes that kind of information isn’t important if you have the inside dope, the story behind the story.
$25,000 SKIP ZIMMERMAN STAKES
California Blossom and Stormy smith stole the show, picking up the winner’s share of the pot in a track record time, in the 20th running of the race
The winning time was 17:36 for the 350-yard dash.
Winning rider Stormy Smith was not surprised that his horse had run its race in record time.
Everything was perfect for such a race. “This horse was at the top of her game,” he said. “Record ? We got out of the gate quickly, the track was tight. I knew we were going fast.”
Trainer Bob Johnson took a phone call in the winner’s circle from winning owner George Seward. A brief chat followed, before Johnson excused himself to take care of matters at hand.
“She’s a quality horse,” he said. “George called me about her when he got her and said he had a project for me.”
The “project” won her second race of the season Sunday, worth $12,500.
The 1889 FUTURITY
Johnson and Smith got their first wins on the card with Divas First Moon, an easy winner in the $15,000 Futurity.
Johnson saddled four of the five horses in the race, but needed only one in this particular case. Divas First Moon dominated.
BLAIR’S COVE LEFTOVERS
Hot Shot Kid and Fireman Oscar waged a nose-to-nose battle to the wire in Saturday’s $50,000 race.
Heather Grevelis caught the action on camera, with a shot of Hot Shot Kid (literally) eyeing his challenger in the final strides.
“You aren’t going past me,” Hot Shot seems to suggest.
And the Fireman didn’t.
