Luxurie narrowly sets fastest time in Zia Quarter Horse Derby trials
ALBUQUERQUE — Rodolfo Valles-trained Luxurie (pictured) defeated Cq Coyame Jessy by a nose in the second of five trials Saturday afternoon at Albuquerque Downs to set the fastest qualifying time for the $203,548 Zia Quarter Horse Derby.
Owned by Triple R Racing Stables LLC, Wallace Lynn Landrum, Ted Rushing and Rancho El 48 LLC, Luxurie has now won each of his last three starts, including a win in last month’s Mountain Top Derby.
The son of Big Daddy Cartel, bred in New Mexico by MJ Farms, has now won seven of nine career starts with earnings of more than $324,000.
Ridden to victory by Joseph Belloc, Jr., Luxurie battled to the finish line and stopped the clock with a final time of 19.198 seconds over 400 yards, narrowly beating Cq Coyame Jessy and Noe Garcia, Jr. The top pair finished the five-race trial sequence as the two fastest qualifiers for the Zia Derby, which will be run Sunday, July 19.
Valles will also be represented in the Zia Derby by King Estate, winner of the third trial heat under Christian Cardenas. The son of Eye Am King, owned by Lifes A Dream Farm and Racing LLC, finished his trial in 19.424 seconds and finished the day as the ninth-fastest qualifier.
Cq Coyame Jessy, trained by Wes Giles for owner Israel Bordier, finished fourth in the Mountain Top Derby last time out and is one of a pair of qualifiers for the Zia Derby trained by Giles.
The Ghan, who finished second behind Pour Me A Drinkk in the fourth trial heat of the day, finished the day as the eighth-fastest qualifier for the Zia QH Derby.
Pour Me A Drinkk, owned by Bob McClure and Sandra K. Barrett and trained by Gerald Marr, finished the day as the fourth-fastest qualifier, winning his trial heat under jockey James Flores in a time of 19.257 seconds. The son of Prospect To The Top was bred in New Mexico by Fred Danley and is a six-time winner from 11 starts with nearly $300,000 in career earnings.
Trainer Tony Sedillo sent out S Super King and Oscar Andrade, Jr. to a three-quarter length win in the opening trial heat, finishing the day as the third-fastest qualifier with a final time of 19.234 seconds. Owned by CHR Racing and bred in New Mexico by Meluking Ranch LLC, the son of Eye Am King has won twice from six career starts, including last year’s New Mexico Breeders Futurity at SunRay Park and Casino.
Trainer David Gomez Barraza will be represented in the Zia Derby by a pair of starters. King Dynasty finished third behind Luxurie and Cq Coyame Jessy to finish the day as the fifth-fastest qualifier while Sya Narra, also ridden by Andrade, won the fifth trial heat in a time of 19.383 seconds, good for the seventh-fastest time of the day.
Owned by Scott Branson and Jimmy Vasquez, the son of El Damazo was bred in New Mexico by Randy L &/ Linda H Schalla and has won four times from eight career starts.
Trainer Clinton Crawford also secured two spots in the final gate. Crawford will send out sixth-fastest qualifier Ima Gonna B Famous and 10th-fastest qualifier Sure Hit.
The list of the 10 fastest qualifiers for the Zia QH Derby
Luxurie – 19.198 seconds
Cq Coyame Jessy – 19.201 seconds
S Super King – 19.234 seconds
Pour Me a Drinkk – 19.257 seconds
King Dynasty – 19.277 seconds
Ima Gonna B Famous – 19.344 seconds
Sya Narra – 19.383 seconds
The Ghan – 19.411 seconds
King Estate – 19.424 seconds
Sure Hit – 19.436 seconds