KJ Bad Moon Rising prevails in Jess Burner Stakes thriller
ALBUQUERQUE — John and Kathy Lee’s homebred KJ Bad Moon Rising rallied between horses in the final yards to narrowly prevail in a thrilling renewal of the Ruidoso Downs $75,000 Jess Burner Stakes on Saturday at Albuquerque Downs.
Ridden by Luis Valenzuela for trainer Wes Giles, KJ Bad Moon Rising was in the mix early in the 400-yard dash, but motored home in the final 100 yards, putting his head in front nearing the wire and edging Harken by a neck in a fast final time of 18.962 seconds, less than a tenth of a second off the track record set by Astica in 2015.
KJ Bad Moon Rising now has eight wins from 17 career starts with earnings exceeding $1.37 million. In addition to his win in the Jess Burner, the 4-year-old son of Kj Mucho Macho Man also owns stakes wins in the New Mexico State Fair Derby and the New Mexico State Fair Futurity. Six of his career wins have come at Albuquerque Downs, where he also ran second in the 2024 All American Futurity.
Sent off as the 5.50-to-1 third choice in the wagering, KJ Bad Moon Rising returned $13 to his winning backers. Harken, making his first start since last September, settled for second under Jesse Levario, prompting a $2 exacta payout of $52.80. Alamos finished third, and Pavel completed the top four finishers.
RC Corona King, the 17-to-10 post time favorite, broke well from the rail under Sergio Dominguez, but was hounded from the start and weakened in the final yards, finishing seventh in the 10-horse field, beaten by three lengths.