Willy Awesome wins first running of Victoria Ennis Memorial
Handicap
FORT WORTH, TEXAS—The first running of the Victoria Ennis Memorial
Handicap was won by Willy Awesome, who jumped to the lead in the final strides
of the race. The race was run on April 24 at Remington Park as a tribute to the
late owner and breeder who was prominent in Appaloosa racing in Oklahoma for
many years. This was the second race for the 2-year-old colt. He ran the
330-yard race in a time of 16.95 seconds. The race featured a purse of $28,000,
with Willy Awesome earning $16,500 for the win.
 |
Willy Awesome wins the Victoria Ennis Memorial Handicap.
Photo by Dustin Orona photography.
 Hirez JPEG (2.2 mb) |
Willy Awesome is a sorrel solid Paint-bred colt by Awesome
Chrome and out of Hot Blooded Wrangler AQHA. He is owned and was bred by Harold
Chenault of Rockwall, Texas. Eddie Willis of Oklahoma trained the colt and he
was ridden by Jimmy Brooks.
SM Countrys Lastfling finished second by a
half-length and a time of 17.01 seconds. The bay solid Paint-bred filly is by
Country Quick Dash and out of Last Fling, by Judys Lineage. She was bred and
trained by Sparky Mullins of the Rafter SM Ranch in Wagoner, Oklahoma. She was
ridden by Kenny Muntz, and earned $5,900 for the second-place finish, bringing
her lifetime earnings to $11,648.
Finishing third was Mo Cash Flash, a bay solid
Paint-bred gelding by Royal Quick Flash and out of Rack N Ruin AQHA. He crossed
the wire with a time of 17.17 seconds, a length behind SM Countrys Lastfling,
earning $3,350. The gelding was trained by Luis Villafranco and ridden by Roy
Brooks. He was bred by H.T. and Kay Churchwell of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, and is
owned by Jane Cullum of Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Other horses completing the race,
along with times, include Oh Country Rose (17.21 seconds), Rip Roarin Moves
(17.24 seconds), Quick Country Girl (17.30 seconds), Moonlight N Chrome (17.34
seconds), Flashing Memories (17.35 seconds), Country Quik Treasure (17.37
seconds) and Mo Betta Shadow (17.46 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.