Cutrock prevails and wins the 2009 RG1 Pot O’Gold Futurity
FORT WORTH, TEXAS—It was a race to the final wire of the Pot O’Gold Futurity RG1
at Blue Ribbon Downs as Cutrock and A Real Surprise dueled down the track on
October 17. Cutrock came out the winner by a half-length with the rest of the
field trailing more than three lengths after the top two. The 400-yard historic
Paint race offered $101,148 in prize money and had ten entries. Cutrock posted a
very fast time of :19.50 seconds to earn a 104 speed index.
 |
It was a race to the final wire of the Pot O’Gold Futurity
RG1 at Blue Ribbon Downs as Cutrock and A Real Surprise dueled down the track on
October 17.
 Hirez JPEG (2.2 mb) |
Not only was this race a race between horses, it was also a race between family
members in and out of the saddle. The first and second place finishes were by
father-son teams including trainers Eddie Willis for Cutrock and son Kevin
Willis for A Real Surprise. The horses were ridden by father-son teams of jockey
Roy Brooks on Cutrock and Jimmy Brooks on A Real Surprise. The fathers were the
winners in this race.
The sorrel gelding, Cutrock, sired by leading sire Judys Lineage and out of
Teresas Partner AQHA earned $37,526 for his first stakes win increasing his
lifetime earnings to $44,106. Cutrock is owned by Jose Luis Granados of
Amarillo, Texas and bred by Clinton Gibbs of Amarillo, Texas. The gelding is
trained by Eddie Willis and was ridden to victory by veteran and legendary
jockey Roy Brooks.
Finishing second was 2-year-old tobiano filly, A Real Surprise. The filly, sired
by multiple champion Country Quick Dash and out of So Surprising, covered the
distance in :19.58 seconds, earning a quick 102 speed index. A Real Surprise
received a payout of $15,880 to up her career earnings to $25,510. The filly is
owned and bred by W. S. Farish of Versailles, Ky., trained by Kevin Willis, was
ridden by Jimmy Brooks.
Flashy Dos finished third for owners B. J. Hall and Jeff Dean of Porter, Okla.,
crossing the finish line in :20.06 seconds and earning $9,204 to bring his
lifetime earnings to $35,471 he is trained by Jeff Dean, ridden by Larry Payne.
Other horses completing the field included Hiclass Flash (20.10 seconds), Jungle
Bug (20.12 seconds), TJ Chrome (20.25 seconds), SM Country Shamrock (20.27
seconds), Dodacious (20.30 seconds), Royal Fast Chick (20.28 seconds) and
Esperanzas Quuickdash (20.62 seconds).
More about Paint Horse racing
Horse racing has long been one of America’s favorite spectator sports. With the
recent growth of the Paint Horse breed, it’s no wonder that Paints have become
one of the hottest tickets in the horse racing industry.
Since 1966, when APHA officially recognized the sport, Paint racing has made
major strides forward. In that inaugural year, 17 starters ran for $1,290 in
just two states—Texas and Oklahoma. In 2008, more than 570 starters competed in
more than 660 APHA-recognized races for record purses totaling more than $5
million.
A total of 17 states now feature Paint racing, including Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Paint
Horses also race in Canada.
"Paint Racing continues to be an opportunity for breeders, owners and trainers
to take a serious look at," said APHA Executive Director Lex Smurthwaite. "The
amount of purse money available and the average earning per Paint starter is
creating new interest in the Paint racing industry."
For more information on Paint Horse racing, contact APHA’s racing department at
(817) 222-6444, email racing@apha.com, or
visit paintracing.com.