Wine Police leads wide-open sprint field in Lea County

Wine Police will have to defeat an eclectic cast of sprinters Tuesday to get back in the win column when competing in the $55,000 Lea County Sprint Stakes at Zia Park in Hobbs, N.M. His rivals include Watch Me Go, who won the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby in 2011; Roman Threat, a Grade 3 winner and half-brother to champion filly Indian Blessing; and Homerun Bertie, the race’s defending winner who is coming off a score over Quarter Horses.

The Lea County is for 3-year-olds and up at 5 1/2 furlongs.

Wine Police, who last year finished a close eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, won the $75,000 Premiere Cup Handicap at Zia Park in September. He will be looking to recapture his local form Tuesday after finishing off the board in the $150,000 Remington Park Sprint Cup.

“I expect a superb race out of him,” said Henry Dominguez, who trains Wine Police for J. Kirk and Judy Robison.

KEY CONTENDERS

Wine Police (Last 3 Beyers: 55-86-87)

◗ He chased multiple stakes winner Heitai through an opening half-mile in 43.50 seconds in the Remington Sprint Cup before finishing ninth in the six-furlong race run Sept. 28. It was a rare off-the-board finish for Wine Police, who in advance of that race worked five furlongs in 58 seconds on Sept. 22.

“He worked real fast out there,” Dominguez said. “The track was closed [in New Mexico], and we had to send him up there to work him. Everything went awry.”

◗ Wine Police is back home, and in his final prep for the Lea County, he breezed a half-mile in 47.80 seconds Oct. 28 at Zia.

“He is really doing well,” said Dominguez.

◗ Wine Police could get a tracking trip behind Homerun Bertie and Roman Threat. He will break outside of both of those horses from post 4. Enrique Gomez has the mount.

Homerun Bertie (Last 3 Beyers: 91-81-53)

◗ He is returning to racing with Thoroughbreds after winning an 870-yard allowance over Quarter Horses at the Downs at Albuquerque Oct. 15.

◗ Homerun Bertie is a three-time stakes winner seeking his third straight win Tuesday. He launched his streak in an Oct. 1 allowance at Albuquerque.

◗ Homerun Bertie is a son of Forestry and the multiple Grade 2-winning mare Allamerican Bertie.

◗ Ry Eikleberry has the mount from post one for SEJ Stables and trainer Justin Evans.

Watch Me Go (Last 3 Beyers: 80-83-92)

◗ His biggest win came around two turns in the Tampa Bay Derby, but he also is a sprint stakes winner, taking the 6-furlong Free Spirit Handicap at Ruidoso Downs in June 2013.

◗ He enters the Lea County off an allowance win Oct. 21 at Zia.

Handle trending up

Zia Park is reporting handle on its live races this meet is averaging $503,055 per card from all sources, a 40 percent increase over the corresponding period in 2013.

The latest boost to the track’s bottom line came during last month’s New Mexico Cup. Zia handled $753,444 on the Oct. 26 program, a 36 percent increase over the same New Mexico-bred stakes card in 2013.

The handle Oct. 26 also ranked as the second highest in the event’s history, behind the $1,019,999 in 2008.

Purse projection at Ruidoso

Ruidoso Downs estimates the purse for next year’s Grade 1 All American Derby for Quarter Horses will be $2.3 million, up $400,000 from the 2014 running. There are 313 horses eligible for the 440-yard race that is run each Labor Day weekend at Ruidoso.

Ruidoso also announced the projected 2015 purse for the Grade 1 All American Futurity for Quarter Horses is $2.7 million. The race is held on Labor Day.

◗ New Mexico-based trainer Joel Marr was sitting at 999 career Thoroughbred training wins through Friday.