Huerfano wins Gillespie County Fair Stakes
FORT WORTH, Texas – Huerfano redeemed himself to breeder and trainer Gary Jacobs of
Vernon, Texas, by winning the Gillespie County Fair Stakes on August 28, 2010,
at Gillespie County Fair in Fredericksburg, Texas. He earned the top qualifying
time into the finals of another futurity weeks earlier, but was scratched due to
a gate incident. In this race, he dominated the field, winning by a full length.
The gelding earned $3,264 for the win in this $5,440 race over 350-yards. He
finished the race with a time of 17.78 seconds.
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Huerfano wins Gillespie County Fair Stakes.
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Huerfano is a two-year-old sorrel solid Paint-bred gelding and is by Country
Quick Dash and out of Moonlight N Memories AQHA, sired by Leaving Memories AQHA.
Huerfano stands for "orphan" since he was orphaned by his recipient-dam as a
two-month-old foal. He set the fastest time in the G2 Colors of Houston
Futurity, but in the finals he flipped in the gates and was scratched. He won
with a commanding lead in the Gillespie Stakes earning his top speed index of
96, making Jacobs proud, as well as regular jockey Jose Alvarez. Regina Hicks of
Vernon, Texas, is the owner. The gelding’s stablemate, Signs Quick Dash,
finished third in the race. Huerfano will be pointed to the G1 Lone Star Park
Paint and Appaloosa Futurity for his next stakes race.
Finishing second was Rockin To First, a stakes winner of the G2 Manor Paint and
Appaloosa Futurity. She is a red roan solid Paint-bred mare by Rock N Strawfly
AQHA out of Dash To First, who is sired by First Caress AQHA. She is owned and
bred by Glen Wilkinson, DVM, of Premont, Texas, trained by Jaime Gonzalez and
ridden by Cipriano Vidana. Rockin To First ran the race with a time of 17.92
seconds, earning $1,088 to make her lifetime earnings $11,107.
Signs Quick Dash, a stable mate of Huerfano, finished the race third with a time
of 17.93 seconds. The sorrel solid Paint-bred gelding is by Country Quick Dash
and out of Sign Of Indian, by Indians Image. He was bred and is owned by Wendell
Blankenship of Plainview, Texas, and is trained by Gary Jacobs and ridden by
Luis Vivanco. Signs Quick Dash earned $544 for the third place finish.
Other horses completing the race, along with times, include Treasured Sixes
(18.00 seconds), Sharp Trouble (18.24 seconds), Turbo Judy (18.54 seconds) and
Rios Treasure Quest (18.95 seconds).
More about Paint Horse racing
Horse racing has long been one of America’s favorite spectator sports. With the
recent growth of the Paint Horse breed, it’s no wonder that Paints have become
one of the hottest tickets in the horse racing industry.
Since 1966, when APHA officially recognized the sport, Paint racing has made
major strides forward. In that inaugural year, 17 starters ran for $1,290 in
just two states—Texas and Oklahoma. In 2009, more than 540 starters competed in
more than 530 APHA-recognized races for record purses totaling more than $4.7
million.
A total of 17 states now feature Paint racing, including Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Paint
Horses also race in Canada.
"With a wealth of top performing Paint racehorses, dedicated owners and
talented trainers and jockeys, Paint Racing continues to remain a strong program
in the horse industry," said APHA Executive Director Lex Smurthwaite. "Paint
Racing enthusiasts recognized the amount of purse money available and have
jumped in to take advantage of the lucrative payouts."
For more information on Paint Horse racing, contact APHA’s racing department at
(817) 222-6444, email racing@apha.com, or
visit paintracing.com.