Doubling up: Jockey, trainer team up to win two prestigious Ruidoso Downs races

RUIDOSO, NEW MEXICO — What a weekend it was for jockey Juan Pulido and trainer Santos Carrizales, Jr.

After winning the Rainbow Derby for 3-year-olds on Saturday, the pair teamed up Sunday to win the Ruidoso Futurity for 2-year-old quarter horses at Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino.

Pulido and Carrizales, Jr., won the $1 million, 400-yard Ruidoso Futurity with Eye On The Card in a winning time of 19.419 seconds.

"I would have never imagined winning both the Rainbow Derby and Rainbow Futurity on the same weekend," said the 27-year-old Pulido. "What a great team effort it was. He was trained well and this horse has been improving."

Eye On The Card, who was sent off at 6-1 odds, has won four of five races and Pulido has been aboard in all five races.

The win was also special for owner Omar Hernandez. The 47-year-old resident of Idaho Falls, Idaho, drove 16 hours from his home with his family of five and won the biggest race of his life. He had never raced a horse in Ruidoso and never attended a race at the track as a fan. The family left Friday and arrived in Ruidoso on Sunday morning.

"We own just a couple of horses and we've run in Idaho, California and Texas, but this is by far the biggest win of my life as an owner," Hernandez said. "It was worth it all and I'm really proud of this horse. He's been getting better each race and he put it all together to win it. It's a great feeling to be a part of all of this. This is where many of the great quarter horses run and it's special to be a part of this type of race."

Eye On The Card is an Oklahoma-bred son of Docs Best Card, but Hernandez will have to make a decision whether to run in the All-American Futurity trials next month to try and qualify for the world's biggest quarter horse race, the All American Futurity on Labor Day. The horse is not paid up for the All American Futurity, so Hernandez would have to pay a supplemental $50,000 fee to have the horse try and qualify.

"We'll make that decision and see what's best for the horse," Hernandez said. "The most important thing is that the horse is healthy and came of the Rainbow Futurity in good health."

Eye On The Card earned $420,000 for Hernandez. Cyber Attack finished second with a time of 19.508 seconds and Getthere Fast was third in a time of 19.634 seconds.

Rainbow Derby

KJ Desparado's quest for the Triple Crown for 3-year-old quarter horses came up short on Saturday afternoon.

KJ Desparado, who won the first leg of the Triple Crown in June in the Ruidoso Derby, went toe-to-toe with A Apollitical Candy V, for the entire 440-yard distance but lost by a neck in a thrilling race. The loss snapped a seven-race win streak for KJ Desparado.

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"We have no excuses," quipped KJ Desparado jockey Adrian Ramos after the race. "We’ll salute the winner and be back to try again next time.”

But for A Pollitical Candy V, the win was verification that he is one of the most improved 3-year-old horses in the country. He has won seven of 16 career races and been in the top three six other times. Owner Samuel Valeriano said after his win in the Ruidoso Invitational that he believed his horse would be a factor the rest of the summer.

He was right. A Pollitical Candy V ran strong and finished well in holding off KJ Desparado's late attempt to win. A Pollitical Candy V is trained by Carrizales, Jr., and was ridden by Pulido. The winning time was 21.137 seconds in the Grade 1 event. A Pollitical Candy V left the gate at 8-1 odds and KJ Desparado was the 3-5 morning-line favorite.

"We knew that our horse had to have a consistent effort because KJ Desparado is the best 3-year-old in the country," said Pulido, who has ridden A Pollitical Candy V in four straight races. "I know the horse better now and he knows me better. It was a great race, but I knew I had it there at the end. Both horses fought all 440 yards."

Rainbow Oaks

Miss Beth Dutton loves the Ruidoso racetrack. On Saturday in the Rainbow Oaks for 3-year-old quarter horse fillies, she held off Kiss The Cartel for the win in a time of 21.554 seconds.

Miss Beth Dutton has won four of six starts at the Ruidoso track and has now won twice at the 440-yard distance.

"She handles this track great and in this race, she broke great," winning trainer Clinton Crawford said. "It was a good win against a good field. I really liked what I saw out of her in this race."

Rainbow Juvenile Stakes

Cartel Kisses won the consolation race for the horses, who did not qualify for the Rainbow Futurity for trainer Heath Taylor and jockey Rodrigo Sigala Vallejo. The winning time was 19.53 seconds.

Cartel Kisses has won five of seven starts. Hooked N Gone was second and Jeriko was third.

"The last 200 yards he was great," Vallejo said. "I'm really proud of this horse and I think he can continue to have success as he gets older."

Felix F. Chavez may be reached at 915-546-6167; fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on Twitter.