Rainbow Derby and Oaks bring out the heavy hitters
Through her undefeated championship season in 2020, the Quarter Horse filly Whistle Stop Cafe ran against males in all six starts, including the $3 million All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs last September.
For her 2021 stakes debut in Saturday’s $374,363 Rainbow Oaks at Ruidoso, Whistle Stop Cafe will have her first start in a stakes against fillies.
Owners Lainie and Raymond Whitmire of Sallisaw, Okla., and trainer Trey Wood had the option of starting 3-year-old Whistle Stop Cafe in trials for the Rainbow Oaks on July 11 or the $678,253 Rainbow Derby against open company, which also will be run on Saturday. Both races are held at 440 yards.
The Whitmires and Wood watched Whistle Stop Cafe win a trial for the Rainbow Oaks in 21.28 seconds in her first start of the year, setting the third-fastest time among the 10 finalists. Whistle Stop Cafe, the mount of Tanner Thedford, will break from the rail and will be favored.
A seven-time winner who has earned $1,979,786, Whistle Stop Cafe was the 2020 Quarter Horse World Champion, overall champion 2-year-old, and champion 2-year-old filly.
In the Rainbow Oaks, Whistle Stop Cafe has a formidable rival in the vastly improved Valiant Stars. Last year, Valiant Stars failed to qualify for Ruidoso’s three major futurities – the Ruidoso, Rainbow and All American. Earlier this year, Valiant Stars was second in the Ruidoso Derby in her stakes debut for trainer Fred Danley. In a time trial for the Rainbow Oaks, Valiant Stars won by a length in 21.26 seconds.
Elphaba, trained by Clinton Crawford, set the fastest qualifying time of 21.24 seconds, but is rated an outsider. In her only previous stakes appearance, Elphaba was fourth in the $256,065 La Fiesta Futurity at the Downs at Albuquerque last September.
The Rainbow Oaks appears to be an easier race than the Rainbow Derby, which drew an outstanding field led by Empressum, the winner of the Ruidoso Derby on June 12. Owned by Jeff Jones and Steve Holt and trained by Heath Taylor, Empressum followed that win with a victory in the July 11 Rainbow Derby trials in 21.07 seconds, the second-fastest qualifying time.
Candy Blood, second to Empressum in the Remington Park Oklahoma-Bred Derby on April 17, set the fastest qualifying time of 20.86 seconds. Candy Blood was second in the Los Alamitos Winter Derby in February to Flash Bak, also a finalist in the Rainbow Derby.
In the Rainbow Derby trials, Candy Blood beat Mister Illusion, who was second to Whistle Stop Cafe in the 2020 Rainbow Futurity and may be capable of a surprise on Saturday for Taylor.
Taylor has a deep list of Rainbow Derby candidates, including Shott Gun, a trial race winner in 21.13 seconds, and Dulce Sin Tacha, the winner of the Texas Classic Futurity at Lone Star Park last November who won a Rainbow Derby trial in 21.21 seconds.