Paint & Appaloosa Futurity / Quarter Horse Distance Championship Highlight Saturday Night Card at Lone Star Park

TRAINER EDDIE WILLIS HAS TWO OF TOP CONTENDERS IN $60,900 LONE STAR PAINT & APPALOOSA FUTURITY

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (Friday, Nov. 21, 2009) –  Jose Luis Granados Cutrock, trained by Eddie Willis, has been made the 8-5 favorite by track odds maker Rick Lee in 4^th Running of the $60,900 Lone Star Park Paint & Appaloosa Futurity, to be run at 350 yards, on Saturday night.

            A winner of four of five career starts, with a second-place finish in his only loss, the two-year-old, sorrel son of Judys Lineage has $46,086 in career earnings.  Jockey Roy Brooks, who rode Cutrock to victory in the trials for the Futurity at Lone Star Park on Nov. 6, will look to extend the favorite’s current winning streak to three.

            A Real Surprise, also trained by Willis, at 4-1 in the morning line will also be one of the contenders in the race.  The two-year-old daughter of Country Quick Dash (QH) will look to improve on her second-place finish in the Nov. 6 trials in her second trip over the Lone Star Park racing strip.  With a career record of 7-3-2-1, A Real Surprise will be looking to add to her $26,180 in career earnings.  Jose Alvarez has the mount.

            Another top challenger in the Futurity should be second favorite in the morning line (5-2) Judys Rocket to Cash.  Owned by Jerry Leavell and trained by top Quarter Horse trainer Robert Touchet, the gelded son of Judys Lineage will be looking to remain undefeated in his sixth career start and add to his $30,063 in lifetime earnings.  Jockey David Alvarez will be in the irons.

The field from the rail out, with jockey and morning line odds listed in parenthesis, consists of:  A Real Surprise (Jose Alvarez, 4-1), Ooh Shez Special (Cody Smith, 20-1), O J Okey (Rodrigo Vallejo, 20-1), Hiclass Flash (Tony Bennett, 20-1), Billy Parson Md (Alex Baldillez, Jr., 20-1), Cutrock (Roy Brooks, 8-5), Sayonara (Adalberto Candanosa, 20-1), Judys Rocket to Cash (David Alvarez, 5-2), and San Mateo Chick (Larry Payne, 10-1).  Hiclass Flash and Sayonara will run as an entry.

            Scheduled as race 8 on the nine-race program, the Lone Star Park Paint & Appaloosa Futurity has an approximate post time of 9:23 p.m.

DEBRA GOTOVAC ENTRY IS FAVORED IN

LONE STAR PARK DISTANCE CHAMPIONSHIP

          Debra Gotovac’s entry of Vital Winner, who won this race a year ago, and General Perry, both trained by Brad Bolen, heads the field of seven in the $15,000 Lone Star Park Distance Championship, a handicap for Quarter Horses three-years-old and up, to be run at 870 yards at Lone Star Park on Saturday night.

Gotovac, a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed with the illness in August 2005, frequently donates a percentage of her purse winnings to the Allison Cancer Center at Midland (Texas) Memorial Hospital and to the American Cancer Society for their breast prosthesis program.  The disease also significantly impacted Bolen, who trains for Gotovac, when his mother died of breast cancer. 

Vital Winner, the top money winner in the race with $347,394 in lifetime earnings, already has two stakes victories during the current Fall Meeting of Champions – the $15,000 Red River Handicap on Sept. 26 and the $15,000 JEH Stallion Station Handicap on Nov. 6.  The 5-year-old gray gelding will be looking to improve his career record of 35-17-6-4 with Alex Baldillez, Jr. in the irons.

His entry mate General Perry, with Cody Wainscott aboard, will be looking for his eighth win in his 42^nd career start while trying to surpass the $100,000 plateau in earnings ($98,781).

Dan Nicks’ Heza Marquette Maker, who ran second to Vital Winner in the Red River Handicap two races back, will look to turn the tables on Saturday night.  A winner of nine races from 29 starts, the 6-year-old gelding has amassed $89,060 in lifetime earnings. Trained by Rick Robinson, Heza Marquette Maker will be ridden by Santos Carrizales.

The field from the rail out, with jockey and morning line odds listed in parenthesis, consists of:  Heza Marquette Maker (Santos Carrizales, 5-2), Sheza Bright Wood (Luis Ramirez, 15-1), General Perry (Cody Wainscott, 9-5), Big Bad N Brown (Gaspar Garcia, 4-1), First Down Toro (Freddie Martinez, 7-2), City Class (Russel Hadley, 10-1), and Vital Winner (Alex Baldillez, Jr., 9-5).  General Perry and Vital Winner will run as an entry.

            The Lone Star Park Distance Championship will be run as Race 3 of nine with a schedule post time of 7:23 p.m.

Lone Star Park’s 2009 Quarter Horse Fall Meeting of Champions runs until Nov. 28 with racing every Thursday through Saturday, except Thursday, Nov. 26 when there will be no live racing due to the Thanksgiving holiday. First post time for all dates will be 6:35 p.m. For more information on Lone Star Park visit LoneStarPark.com.

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