Futurity winners lead All American trials

Okey Dokey Fantasy, who scored a dead-heat win in the Ruidoso Futurity, and the two other Grade 1 futurity winners during the Ruidoso Downs season are among the 162 entrants who will run Thursday at Ruidoso in the 17 trials to the Grade 1, $2,050,000 All American Futurity.

The two other futurity winners in the 440-yard trials are Saint Shackleton, who shared the dead-heat win in the Ruidoso Futurity, and Big Time Hero, who won the Rainbow Futurity.

Okey Dokey Fantasy, Saint Shackleton, and Big Time Hero are among the five horses supplemented to enter the trials at a cost of $50,000. The other supplemental nominees are Winning Intent, who won the West Texas Juvenile, and Move With Ease, who is undefeated from five career starts in Utah and Wyoming.

Okey Dokey Fantasy is undefeated in seven starts. He won the Grade 1, $336,520 Manor Downs Futurity and the Grade 2, $265,680 Longhorn Futurity at Manor Downs before finishing in the dead-heat win with Saint Shackleton in the Grade 1, $500,000 Ruidoso Futurity.

In his latest start, Okey Dokey Fantasy won his Rainbow Futurity trial, but the time wasn't fast enough to qualify for the finals.

Saint Shackleton caught up to Okey Dokey Fantasy in the final stride of the 350-yard Ruidoso Futurity. He then finished second in his Rainbow Futurity trial as the 2-5 favorite and did not qualify for the Rainbow Futurity.

Big Time Hero scored a 32-1 upset in the Rainbow Futurity to earn $300,000 and pay his way into the All American Futurity trials. The Rainbow Futurity win was his third win from five career starts.

The horses with the 10 fastest times qualify for the All American Futurity on Sept. 4, when a $1 million first-place check will be on the line. The All American Futurity winner also receives a berth in the $300,000 Southwest Juvenile Championship at Zia Park on Dec. 3.

Strawkins tops All American Derby trials

Strawkins recently set a track record for 440 yards and returns at that distance Friday at Ruidoso Downs to head the five trials to the Grade 1, $390,000 All American Derby.

The All American Derby final will be run Sept. 3.

Strawkins, who races in the fifth trial, lowered the 440-yard track record at Ruidoso Downs to 20.736 seconds when he scored a 1 3/4-length win in the Grade 1, $268,000 Rainbow Derby on July 22. It was his fourth win from four starts at Ruidoso Downs, and his 10th win from 13 career starts. He has won stakes races at four tracks in the United States and Canada.

Trained by Paul Jones, Strawkins was the sole $40,000 supplemental nominee to enter the trials.

Jones will also send out Separate Tac, the fastest qualifier to the Rainbow Derby and runner-up behind Strawkins in the final. She raced the 440 yards in 21.211 seconds to set the fastest qualifying time to the Rainbow Derby.

Separate Tac will meet Grade 1 winners Winninginthebuff and PYC Paint Your Wagon in the fourth trial Thursday. Winninginthebuff comes off a neck win in the Grade 1, $168,000 Ruidoso Derby and has finished first in each of his five 2006 starts, but was disqualified from a win in a Sunland Park allowance race. PYC Paint Your Wagon won the Grade 1, $1 million Texas Classic Futurity in November.

The horses with the 10 fastest times in the trials qualify for the All American Derby. The All American Derby winner qualifies for the Grade 1, $600,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos on Dec. 9.