Lightning Vaquera brings fastest qualifer to Golden State Million Futurity
Lightning Vaquera needed less than 20 seconds on Oct. 3 to go from a summertime flop in Albuquerque to the fastest qualifier for Sunday’s $1.19 million Golden State Million Futurity at Los Alamitos.
In the 14th and final time trial on Oct. 3, Lightning Vaquera ran 400 yards in 19.89 seconds, one of four finalists to qualify with times of less than 20 seconds.
The result was a reversal from Lightning Vaquera’s seventh-place finish in a division of the Rainbow Futurity trials on June 26, and a sixth-place finish in a division of the All American Futurity trials on Aug. 8.
In Sunday’s final, Lightning Vaquera drew the outside post, and will be ridden by Gerardo Vera. Lightning Vaquera, one of three fillies among the 10 finalists, is owned by Javier Rodriguez’s La Feliz Montana Ranch of Hondo, N.M.
“I knew she was going to run well because she didn’t break that well in Albuquerque and always had a little trouble,” Rodriguez said on Oct. 3 of the trial race win. “She only had two outs and was very inexperienced because something always happened.”
Rodriguez also co-owns Luxury Sin Tacha, a trial race winner in 19.97 seconds. Those two, as well as Jess B Boujee and Jess Loaded, are trained by Rodriguez’s brother Manuel.
Those four raced in Albuquerque earlier this year, as did two qualifiers trained by James Gonzales II – Revenantly, who won a trial for the Golden State Million Futurity in 19.93 seconds, and Carter Cowgirl 123, a trial race winner in 20.02 seconds and the fifth-place finisher in the $1 million Rainbow Futurity in July.
Two California-based colts – Faultless and Nuclear Arsenal – will start from the inside two post positions with the benefit of big-race experience. They were second and third in the $920,000 Ed Burke Futurity at 350 yards at Los Alamitos on June 21.
Faultless, trained by Scott Willoughby, was beaten a nose in the Burke Futurity by Cv Fddinasty Shan, who did not start in the Golden State Million trials. Faultless won a trial for the Golden State Million Futurity in 19.99 seconds.
Nuclear Arsenal, trained by Paul Jones, was second by three-quarters of a length behind Revenantly on Oct. 3.
The Golden State Million Futurity is the third stakes final for Nuclear Arsenal. On Sept. 13, Nuclear Arsenal finished last of 10 in the $290,000 Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association Breeders’ Futurity at Los Alamitos after a troubled trip.
Nuclear Arsenal is the most experienced runner in Sunday’s field with three wins in eight starts since a victory in his debut in a 300-yard maiden race in April. Lightning Vaquera is the least experienced. Sunday’s race will be her fourth start.
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