Kj Desparado puts streak on the line in Rainbow Derby

Kj Desparado will attempt to win his eighth consecutive race Saturday in the Grade 1, $645,329 Rainbow Quarter Horse Derby at Ruidoso Downs.

The feature at 440 yards shares a program with the $348,826 Rainbow Oaks and $100,000 Rainbow Invitational.

Kj Desparado will break from post 9 in the Rainbow Derby, under regular rider Adrian Ramos. His string of seven straight victories have come between Ruidoso and Lone Star Park.

“It’s hard when you’re running in Grade 1s to have this kind of a win streak going, that’s for sure,” said Wesley Giles, the veteran trainer who conditions Kj Desparado for John and Kathy Lee and Ruben Mares. “It doesn’t happen very often. We’re fortunate to have the horse. They just don’t come along, [these] once-in-a-lifetime-type horses.”

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Kj Desparado began his streak last summer at Ruidoso, where he was the fastest qualifier during one of the two dates of trials for the Grade 1, $3 million All American Futurity. Kj Desparado came back to win the final over eventual champion Jess Savin Candy, then moved on to Lone Star Park.

Kj Desparado won a trial and the Grade 1, $1.1 million Texas Classic Futurity in the slop to close out his 2-year-old season. He resumed racing this meet at Ruidoso and won a trial and the Grade 1 Ruidoso Derby before taking his trial for the Rainbow to push his earnings to more than $2.3 million.

“He likes his job,” Giles said. “I think this horse can run on top of the ground. He can handle variants of different kinds of tracks. It’s something that sets him apart.”

Kj Desparado won his Rainbow trial by 1 1/4 lengths July 10. He covered 440 yards in 21.28 seconds to rank as the fastest qualifier for the finale Saturday.

“He ran a pretty good race,” Giles said. “He kind of stumbled a little bit when he left there. I think that took a little bit out of him, but he still ran okay.”

Kj Desparado is now 7 for 9 at Ruidoso. Overall, he is 9 for 13.

The Rainbow is the second leg of the meet’s series of major stakes for 3-year-olds. The first leg is the Ruidoso Derby and the final leg is the All American Derby.

Other set to start in the Rainbow include Fdd Scout, who was second by a neck in last year’s All American Futurity, and Lethal Avenger, winner of the West Texas Derby at Sunland Park.

◗ Sunshine Nmy Pocket will be looking for her fourth straight win when she takes on fastest qualifier, Kiss the Cartel, in the Ruidoso Oaks.