Gf Shes Sinful takes early lead to the wire in Ruidoso Derby

Gf Shes Sinful performed to expectations as the favorite, and fastest qualifier from time trials on May 25, to win her first major stakes in Saturday’s $744,506 Ruidoso Derby at The Downs at Albuquerque.

Starting from the inside post in a field of 10, Gf Shes Sinful broke sharply under jockey Noe Garcia Jr., taking a one-length lead within the first 100 yards of the 400-yard race. Gf Shes Sinful ($4.40) led by that margin to the finish. She was timed in 18.92 seconds, quicker than her trial time of 18.98 seconds.

Jarvis V (19-1) finished second, a half-length in front of 6-1 Midnite Smokin, who drifted to the inside at the start.

Gf Shes Sinful has won 5 of 6 starts and earned $359,453. The win in the Ruidoso Derby was worth $312,693 for the All In Partners and trainer Wes Giles.

The time trials for the Ruidoso Derby were run during the day, but the final had a post time of 10:11 p.m. Prior to Saturday, Giles expressed concern about how Gf Shes Sinful would handle racing under the lights, but the filly delivered the best performance of her career.

Gf Shes Sinful’s only loss was a last-place finish of 10 after a poor start in the Texas Classic Futurity at Lone Star Park last November. The Ruidoso Derby trial was her first start of 2026.

The Ruidoso Derby is typically run at Ruidoso Downs, but the Ruidoso Downs meeting this year was moved to Albuquerque earlier this year.

In July of the last two years, Ruidoso Downs, located in the southern part of the state, has been flooded by runoff from nearby mountains that sustained widespread loss of vegetation in a massive forest fire in June 2024. It is not clear when racing will resume at Ruidoso Downs.

The latter weeks of the 2024 and 2025 Ruidoso Downs meetings were held at Albuquerque, including the famous All American Futurity on Labor Day.

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