Kiss My Hocks enters Futurity off track-record performance

The first-time starter Kiss My Hocks made a splashy debut at Sam Houston Race Park on March 29. The 2-year-old Quarter Horse won the fourth of 17 time trials for Saturday’s $563,950 Sam Houston Futurity over 330 yards in track-record time of 16.43 seconds. The 13 mile per hour tailwind helped the time, but Kiss My Hocks was outstanding in his debut.

The dazzling start is expected to make Kiss My Hocks the favorite in a field of 10 in Saturday’s futurity, the year’s first major stakes for 2-year-old Quarter Horses in Texas.

Owned by Conda Maze and breeder Tyler Graham, Kiss My Hocks is trained by Toby Keeton. A colt by Tempting Dash, Kiss My Hocks has drawn the rail for the final. All the runners are making their second career starts following the eight-hour marathon card in the time trials.

In his trial win, Kiss My Hocks finished a neck in front of Quic Carter, who was timed in 16.47 seconds, which would have beaten the previous track record of 16.51 seconds set in 2002 by Pies Power Play in an allowance race.

Smile Big Time, who was third behind Kiss My Hocks, also qualified for the final, the only third-place finisher in the trials to do so.

Kiss My Hocks is one of eight trial race winners in the final, along with Glimpse of Dash (16.52 seconds), Cartel Legend (16.56), Tres Air (16.59), Cosmo Traffic (16.64), String Bet (16.70), Jetin Cosmos (16.75), and Sixes Down (16.75).

Tres Air is trained by Trey Wood, who won the 2013 Sam Houston Futurity with the filly Especially Tres, who went on to finish fourth in the All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs last September.