Three titles on line in Sunland feature

National divisional championship titles are probably at stake when Ketel Won, Separate Bet, and Gotta Get race in the The Championship at Sunland Park on Saturday afternoon.

Ketel Won is making a late-season run that could lead to the champion aged stallion award as one of two older stallions who have a Grade 1 stakes win. Volcom won the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Championship in February, but is winless in four subsequent starts. Ketel Won comes into Saturday's Grade 1, $400,000 Championship off a late-running win in the Grade 1 Zia Park Championship.

Before his Zia Park win, Ketel Won was named the top older horse during the Ruidoso Downs summer season with two wins and a second from three stakes starts. He then went to California and finished third after a lackluster start in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Championship.

Separate Bet bids for the champion 3-year-old gelding title after winning the Grade 1, $450,000 Rainbow Derby and setting the 400-yard track record at Ruidoso. Five other 3-year-old geldings own a Grade 1 stakes win in 2007.

Separate Bet returned from knee surgery in June to lower the Ruidoso 400-yard track record to 19.18 seconds with an allowance win. He then rolled to a 2 3/4-length win in the 440-yard Rainbow Derby and was a close second to Dont Let Down in the All American Derby as the 2-5 favorite.

Gotta Get is trying to defend his champion aged gelding title. He won the 2006 award after winning each of his seven starts, all stakes, capped by his win in The Championship at Sunland Park. There are five other aged geldings who won a Grade 1 stakes in 2007.

This year, Gotta Get has won 6 of 10 starts. He comes off a win in the Grade 1 Jess Burner Stakes over New Mexico-breds and has an open stakes win in the Grade 2 West Texas Maturity. Each of those stakes wins came at Sunland.

Two Grade 2 stakes at Sunland

Horses will be racing for just the stakes win, not championship consideration, when second-tier futurity and derby runners compete in the Grade 2, $125,363 Sunland Park Winter Quarter Horse Derby and the Grade 2, $161,040 Sunland Park Quarter Horse Futurity.

The derby is part of Saturday's undercard while the futurity will be contested Sunday afternoon.

Miss Kips Streakin is in peak form for the derby after setting the fastest-qualifying time of 19.297 seconds for 400 yards while winning her trial by one length. She won the Grade 2 Manor Downs Derby in April and was fourth in the Grade 1, $1 million Texas Classic Derby two starts ago.

Okey Dokey Fantasy tries to regain the form that saw him earn $544,429 and win two Grade 1 stakes at 2. This year, at 3, he is winless from 5 starts with 4 seconds and 1 third.

In the wide-open futurity, trainer Wes Giles tries to continue his break-out year with fastest qualifier BCR Flyin Bayou, who won his maiden with his trial victory in 19.318 seconds for 400 yards. This year, Giles has won two Grade 1 futurities with Wild Six and the Grade 2 Hobbs America Derby.