Alepony, LLC’s Harken, winner of last year’s Mountain Top Futurity, appears to be well on his way to adding the Mountain Top Derby to his list of accomplishments after racing to the role of fastest qualifier for the $200,000 featured event on Saturday at Ruidoso Downs.
Trained by Jesus Soto and ridden by Sergio Becerra, Jr., Harken rolled to a 1 1/4 length win in the sixth and final trial for the Mountain Top Derby, racing 350 yards over a sealed track listed as muddy in a time of 17.343 seconds.
Harken, a son of Eye Am King and conqueror of multiple stakes races, including the West Texas Derby on March 1 at Sunland Park, has now won seven times from 11 career starts and has earned more than $346,000.
Harken is unbeaten in four career starts at Ruidoso Downs and has now won four straight races heading into the Mountain Top Derby which will be run on Saturday, June 14.
Trainer Tony Sedillo will saddle as many as three qualifiers for the Mountain Top Derby, inclduding Alamos, winner of the fourth trial race of the day, as well as Eye Im Flashin, who finished second in the fifth trial of the day.
Alamos and Eye Im Flashin are both owned by the Tungsten Racing Partnership and will enter the starting gate for the Mountain Top Derby as the third and fourth fastest qualifiers respectively.
Sedillo will also saddle King Seis, who finished second behind Harken in the fastest qualifying heat of the card.
Eye For Cambria, winner of the fifth trial heat for trainer James J. Gonzalez III for owners Ellison Carter and Jeff Bourquin, earned the second fastest qualifying time racing 350 yards in a time of 17.414 seconds.
For a full list of qualifiers for the $200,000 Mountain Top Derby, check out stallionesearch.com.https://stallionesearch.com/info.asp?section=18&storyid=3622.