El Huracano V has upside in Rainbow Futurity

El Huracano V did not have the fastest qualifying time for Sunday’s $1 million Rainbow Futurity in trials on June 27, but he may have had the most eye-appealing win from 30 divisions spread over two days at The Downs at Albuquerque.

El Huracano V won the fourth of 15 trials by three lengths, finishing 400 yards in 19.74 seconds. He had the third-fastest time from the second of two days of trials. The 2-year-old runners with the five fastest times each day advanced to the final.

The win left jockey Francisco Calderon slightly stunned.

“He ran lights out in the trials,” Calderon said earlier this week. “When he got to the grandstand, he was so alone he shied in. I almost think he’s got room for improvement.”

Owned by Sammy Valeriano and trained by Raymond Valerio, El Huracano V has won 2 of 4 starts and earned $212,670, the highest among the 10 qualifiers for Sunday’s race. El Huracano V won a division of the Heritage Place Futurity trials at Remington Park on May 8 and finished second by three-quarters of a length to Fall Classic in the $1.15 million final on May 30.

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El Huracano V starts from post 9 in the Rainbow Futurity, the ninth race on a 10-race program that begins at 1:30 p.m. Mountain.

The overall fastest qualifier is Ask Her to Fly, one of five fillies in the field. Trained by Jason Olmstead, Ask Her to Fly won the 14th of 15 trials by 2 3/4 lengths on June 27 in 19.57 seconds, her third win in five starts.

Ask Her to Fly was third in the $1 million Ruidoso Futurity at Albuquerque on June 7. Heatseeker V was sixth in the Ruidoso Futurity and starts from the inside post in the Rainbow Futurity after winning a Rainbow trial in 19.59 seconds on June 27.

The filly Cartel Cowgirl 123 was the fastest qualifier from the June 26 trials, winning her career debut by two lengths in 19.62 seconds. Cartel Cowgirl, trained by James Gonzales II, races for owner and breeder Johnny Trotter, who owns Ruidoso Downs.

The Ruidoso Downs meeting was abandoned earlier this year and moved to Albuquerque after repeated floods caused by runoff from a 2024 wildfire in mountains above Ruidoso forced the cancellation of the racing season there in July of 2024 and again last year.

The Rainbow Futurity field was not finalized until July 2, three days before entries were taken.

The filly Bett the Limit, sixth in the Heritage Place Futurity, was added to the field after owner Lance Powers successfully appealed a disqualification from a trial on June 27 to the New Mexico State Racing Commission. Bett the Limit won the trial and was disqualified and placed second for drifting to the inside. The racing commission reversed the disqualification, allowing Bett the Limit to be entered in the Rainbow Futurity.

Had the disqualification been upheld, Bett the Limit would have been relegated to Sunday’s $100,000 Rainbow Juvenile, a consolation race.

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