Rockin To First wins G2 Manor Paint and Appaloosa Futurity
FORT WORTH, TEXAS—Rockin To First ran a clean race to the finish, beating out
the favorite to win the Grade 2 Manor Paint and Appaloosa Futurity on April 10
at Manor Downs in Manor, Texas. The favorite, Turbo Judy, was side by side with
her down the stretch but Rockin To First managed to shake her loose and win by ¾
length, posting a time of 16.06. This was the red roan filly’s first win,
earning her $7,673 with jockey Luis Ramirez guiding her to the win.
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Rockin To First wins the G2 Manor Paint and Appaloosa
Futurity. Photo by APHA Marketing
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Rockin To First is a 2-year-old red roan filly by Rock N Strawfly AQHA and out
of Paint mare Dash To First, by First Caress AQHA. She is owned by Dr. Glen
Wilkinson of Premont, Texas. Dr. Wilkinson has been an equine veterinarian for
over 25 years at the Wilkinson Veterinary Clinic and owns stallions First Caress
AQHA and Rock N Strawfly AQHA, with his wife Debbie Wilkinson who is an equine
tattoer (for racing identification purposes). They bred and raised Rockin To
First on their farm and this is the sire’s first Paint stakes winner. Due to the
demise of Adashtoomuch (stakes winning grand-dam), Dash To First was her only
offspring. After a fence accident they decided to not race Dash To First,
instead they bred her to Rock N Strawfly, resulting in Rockin To First.
"This is such a pretty roan mare, just like her dam," said Wilkinson. "But she
was very flighty as a yearling and it took some work from the trainer (Jaime
Gonzalez) to get her acclimated and ready to race. Jaime has done a wonderful
job with her and we are so proud of the work that he and his assistant Jessie
have put into her. Jaime had a heart attack two days before the final and wasn’t
able to attend the race, and neither was I, between work at the clinic and sick
grandkids, but we knew that Jessie would get her ready to run."
The next race planned for Rockin To First is the July Grade 2 Colors of Houston
Futurity at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston and the Grade 1 Lone Star Paint and
Appaloosa Futurity in Grand Prairie in the fall. "We have run in Texas and
Oklahoma, but believe in supporting the racing in Texas. We don’t want it to go
away, and want to encourage people to support Texas racing and the Texas
Paint-bred program. Enroll your foals in TPHBA. We received a $19,000 check this
year with three runners and have received several $10,000+ checks over the
years. It is worth it," said Wilkinson.
Second across the wire was Turbo Judy who had people’s attention prior to the
race for two reasons – she was the odds favorite after gamely winning a recent
race, and also because she was running late for the saddling paddock and people
were wondering where she was. One minute to go to check in and the trainer was
running with her down the walkway to the saddling paddock. Turbo Judy is a
flashy sorrel tobiano filly by Judys Lineage and out of A Turbo Jet, by Raise A
Jet. She was bred in Oklahoma by partners Andy Golden, Vel Smith and Michael
Pohl. She is owned by J and B Rental and Paul Ramirez of Laredo, Texas. Paul
Ramirez trains the filly and J.R. Ramirez was the jockey for both of her races
on record. She finished the race with a time of 16.15, earning $3,869 for the
second-place finish, bringing her lifetime earnings to $6,479.
Finishing third was an unraced sorrel colt named Sharp Trouble, by Texas sire A
Sharper Image and out of Power Trouble. He crossed the wire with a time of
16.18, up close to Turbo Judy at the finish. Sharp Trouble earned $1,966 for the
third-place finish. The colt was ridden by Eleazar Guillen. He was bred and
trained by Steve Garrison, and is owned by Jose Hernandez of Irving, Texas.
Other horses completing the race, along with times, include Ellies Dream (16.39
seconds), Speedy Cadet (16.51 seconds), Double Dashing Girl (16.51 seconds), Bug
A Beduino (16.74 seconds) and Rios Treasure Quest (16.80 seconds). Dreamy Caress
was scratched prior to the race.
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 2009, more than 540 starters competed in
more than 530 APHA-recognized races for record purses totaling more than $4.7
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.
"With a wealth of top performing Paint racehorses, dedicated owners and
talented trainers and jockeys, Paint Racing continues to remain a strong program
in the horse industry," said APHA Executive Director Lex Smurthwaite. "Paint
Racing enthusiasts recognized the amount of purse money available and have
jumped in to take advantage of the lucrative payouts."
For more information on Paint Horse racing, contact APHA’s racing department at
(817) 222-6444, email racing@apha.com, or
visit paintracing.com.