Tyler Stein won the biggest race of his career Wednesday night when Relentlessly Fast won the $69,531 MQHRA Stallion Auction Futurity by a head at odds of 23 to 1. “I’ve won some futurities in South Dakota before,” Stein said, “but this is the first legitimate purse.”
He’d been trying to win this race since beginning his training career in 2019. “I think I’ve qualified seven to this race but always got blown away.” Last night’s result was sweet for the Texas native who spent his late teenage years in South Dakota as it rewarded an owner, Tom Maher, that supported him from the start. Stein began as an owner himself, learning the ropes, and started training at Prairie Meadows in the late summer of ’19 winning his first race Aug. 30 at the Altoona, Iowa racetrack.
Maher, one of the top quarter horse owners in Canterbury history, was involved in the ownership or breeding of the top four finishers Relentlessly Fast, Relentless Corona, Relentless Minnie and Relentless Bay. All are by the stallion Hes Relentless who was campaigned by an ownership group including Maher.
Maher had faith in the young Stein and gave him horses at the outset of his career.
Currently Stein has 22 horses stabled at Prairie Meadows. He ships to Shakopee to race and this weekend plans to race at North Dakota Horse Park as well.
Asked what he has learned since embarking on his occupation, Stein replied, “You’ve got to have the horse. Some trainers can add to a horse and some may take away but you have to have a good horse to compete.” He has that good horse in Relentlessly Fast.
Constantino Roman wins four on Wednesday
Thoroughbred jockey Constantino Roman won four races with six mounts Wednesday. He swept the opening double and race four with favorites and wired the field in race seven at 6 to 1 odds. He finished second and fifth on the other mounts. Roman is tied for fifth in the rider standings with 15 wins from 97 starts and is fifth in earnings with $370,673.
One in Vermillion
Trainer Esteban Martinez intends to send One in Vermillion to the $500,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park on Aug. 6. The 3-year-old finished second in the Canterbury Derby June 21 and was disqualified to second after dead heating for the win in the $250,000 Iowa Derby July 8. This will be the farthest east Martinez, who races at Turf Paradise in the winter, has shipped to run a horse.
Jockey Harry Hernandez will ride. Hernandez, Canterbury’s leading jockey, is currently serving days for the Iowa DQ and will return to racing Sunday.
