Sunland creates new $250,000 stakes

Sunland Park in New Mexico has added a major stakes to the national calendar: the $250,000 Sunland Park Super Stakes on Dec. 29.

Sunland Park management will ask the American Quarter Horse Association's graded stakes subcommittee for a Grade 1 designation at the subcommittee's October meeting, and approval is expected.

The starters in the 400-yard race will come from the winners of selected stakes in the Southwest and the Grade 1 Champion of Champions, which will be held at Los Alamitos on Dec. 16.

The Sunland Park Super Stakes is a response by Sunland management to a change in the qualifying format for the Champion of Champions. The winner of only one 2001 race outside of California - the Remington Park Championship - will get an invitation to the Champion of Champions. This gives New Mexico-based Quarter Horses little chance to get into the race. The Super Stakes gives them a shot at a big purse.

"Also, this is two weeks after the Champion of Champions, so it's conceivable we could get some Champion of Champions horses," Sunland Park racing secretary Norm Amundson said.

Mixed race at Calder

A four-furlong race that includes four Quarter Horses and four Thoroughbreds will be part of the Summit of Speed at Calder Race Course in Miami on July 14.

Billed as the Quarter Horse-Thoroughbred Challenge, the $25,000 race will be an invitational event for 3-year-olds and older horses.

One breed will have the even-numbered post positions and the other breed will have the odd-numbered post positions. There will be a wager on which breed will win the race.

Eyes Hungry returns to Canterbury

Eyes Hungry, winner of the Grade 3 Northlands Futurity at Canterbury Downs last year, is the favorite in the Grade 3, $47,500 Bayer Legend Central Challenge for 3-year-olds at Canterbury on Sunday.

Trained by Joel Blasi, Eyes Hungry has three wins from three starts at the Minnesota track. His combined winning margin for those three wins is an amazing 6 1/2 lengths.

Last year, Eyes Hungry won his Northlands Futurity trial by a dominating 3 1/2 lengths and was a length winner of the Northlands Futurity.

This year, Eyes Hungry ran in the Grade 1 Remington Park Derby and then won his Central Challenge trial by two lengths at Canterbury. His time of 20.01 seconds for the 400 yards was the fastest time from two trials run over a track listed as sloppy.

In the other trial, held on May 20, Telumwillyboywashere raced to his second straight victory with a 20.12-second time, good for the second-fastest clocking.

Trained by Brad Heidelberg, Telumwillyboywashere qualified for last year's Grade 1 Heritage Place Futurity.

The winner of Sunday's 400-yard race qualifies for the $175,000, Grade 1 Bayer Legend Challenge Championship on Oct. 20 at Los Alamitos.

Im Beholdin tries to rebound

Remington Distance Handicap winner Im Beholdin tries to bounce back from two defeats in the Grade 3, $20,000 Pauls Valley Handicap on Sunday afternoon at Remington Park.

The 5-year-old Im Beholdin scored his first stakes win in the Remington Distance Handicap on April 8, but then finished off the board in his Oklahoma Distance Challenge trial and the Distance Challenge finals.