Ruidoso Downs: Cartel Quick wins Ruidoso Downs Futurity

Cartel Quick remained undefeated in two starts Sunday, when he held on for a nose win over You N How Many More in the Grade 1, $750,000 Ruidoso Downs Futurity for Quarter Horses.

The race was the first of three major futurities run each season at the New Mexico track. The Rainbow is next month, while the All American Futurity will be held in September.

Cartel Quick ($16) was prominent from the outset in the 350-yard Ruidoso on Sunday and covered the distance on a fast track in 17.49 seconds. He came into the race off a one-length win in his trial, which was held at Ruidoso on May 24.

Tanner Thedford rode Cartel Quick, an Oklahoma-bred son of Teller Cartel who races for Sergio Enriquez. Cartel Quick is trained by Alonso Orozco.

Three Wild Dreams finished third in the Ruidoso, a half-length behind You N How Many More. One Quick Eagle was the race’s favorite as the fastest qualifier, and she finished ninth Sunday.

Two days of Rainbow trials

Ruidoso announced Sunday that there will be two days of trials for the Rainbow Futurity, a Grade 1 race that will have a record purse of $1 million when it is run July 21. The dates of the trials will be July 4-5.

This is the first time Ruidoso has run two dates of trials for the Rainbow. The five fastest qualifiers from each trial date will advance to the finale. The decision was made after 25 trials were run for this year’s Ruidoso Futurity on a nine-hour program that began at 10 a.m. and continued after 7 p.m.