High Plains Perry tops Wood trio in Ruidoso Derby

High Plains Perry ended his 2-year-old season with a win in the Grade 1 Texas Classic Futurity at Lone Star Park last October.

High Plains Perry is back in another Grade 1 race for Quarter Horses in Saturday’s $800,000 Ruidoso Derby at 400 yards, part of a strong team of three qualifiers for 29-year-old trainer Trey Wood.

Wood starts the filly Corona Carmelita, who is unbeaten in two starts, and Mighty B Cartel, a gelding. Both will have their first start in a stakes Saturday.

High Plains Perry won his first start of 2017 in a division of the Ruidoso Derby trials on May 28 in 19.64 seconds, the fourth-fastest qualifying time. Owned by Tom Lipar’s Paragon Farms, High Plains Perry has won 5 of 6 starts and earned $455,780, the second-highest earnings figure among the 10 finalists in the Ruidoso Derby.

High Plains Perry was rested at Wood’s ranch in Brock, Texas, over the winter after undergoing what the trainer described as “minor surgery” last fall. The trial win surprised Wood.

“I didn’t think he was as fit as he should have been,” Wood said this week.

Corona Carmelita, owned by Lipar, and Mighty B Cartel, owned by Terry and Irene Stennett, were plagued by sore shins and other issues at 2. Each won a trial race on May 28.

Corona Carmelita won a maiden race at Remington Park in March in her debut.

“We turned her out for six months, and we got her back up in November,” Wood said. “We thought she could run last year.”

Mighty B Cartel has won 3 of 6 starts in a 15-month career with several layoffs.

“He’s not the fastest horse, but he tries,” Wood said. “It took him a while to catch up to everyone else.”

Of the other seven runners, Wood most respects Apollitical Chad, who drew the outside. Trained by Wes Giles for Nueve Racing, Apollitical Chad won the Ruidoso Futurity and was fourth in the All American Futurity last year. Apollitical Chad had the second-fastest qualifying time of 19.59 seconds in the trials.

“He’s a proven horse and has shown he can win a Grade 1,” Wood said.

Firing Tools, eighth in the Texas Classic Futurity last October, is the fastest qualifier, having won a trial race by a remarkable four lengths in 19.39 seconds.