Jess Toast Winner goes for fourth straight win in Dash For Cash Futurity
Jess Toast Winner will be seeking his fourth straight win Saturday night, when he starts in the Grade 1, $385,110 Dash For Cash Futurity at Lone Star Park. The 400-yard race is the first of two major 2-year-old stakes at the current Quarter Horse meet. Lone Star also is home to the Grade 1, $1 million Texas Classic Futurity.
The Dash For Cash will go with a full field of 10. It leads a program that includes the Grade 2, $174,400 Dash For Cash Derby.
Jess Toast Winner was the fastest futurity qualifier during trials Sept. 27, when he covered 400 yards in 19.54 seconds. He edged fellow qualifier Rattle N Battle by a head in his first start in three months and would seem to have reason to move forward Saturday. Martin Rubalcava has the mount on the graded stakes winner for trainer Rodolfo Sanchez.
Great Grace set the third-fastest time for the finale when she won her Sept. 27 trial in 19.58 seconds. She wired the field by 1 1/4 lengths and is one of five runners from the race to advance to the final Saturday.
Her O Don Won set the fastest qualifying time for the Dash For Cash Derby when he won his 440-yard trial in 21.46 seconds. Last year, he was second by a neck in the Dash For Cash Futurity, and this year, he finished second by a half-length in the Grade 1 Rainbow at Ruidoso Downs. Larry Payne has the mount for trainer Russell Harris.
New integrity policies
Lone Star’s sister track, Remington Park in Oklahoma City, will be instituting some new integrity policies during the 2015 meet for Quarter Horses. The track, along with the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association, announced that qualifiers for all futurities and derbies will be required to remain on the grounds from the trials through their respective finales.
In addition, all other stakes starters will have to be on the grounds at Remington from the time of entry through the running of the stakes in which they are participating.
“These kinds of measures make it possible to provide a heightened level of security for the equine athletes,” a release stated.
The requirements are similar to those being put into place at Ruidoso, which next year will require all qualifiers to its major futurities and derbies to remain on the grounds through the finales. Ruidoso is also instituting super testing for its major races, and Remington is considering such action, according to a release issued Thursday.