RAINBOW DERBY RUNS ON SATURDAY

COURTESY OF AQHA.COM

VALIANT HERO LOOKING FOR RAINBOW

July 19, 2007 – Texas Classic Futurity winner Valiant Hero should be favored to race to his fifth-straight win when he faces a five-horse Paul Jones-trained contingent on Saturday in the $447,230 Rainbow Derby (G1), the richest running since champion and broodmare of the year Florentine won in 1987.

Owned by Henry and Mimi Brown, Terry Bell and Homer Hill, Valiant Hero (First Down Dash-Corona Chick by Chicks Beduino) has proven to be a bargain since topping the 2005 Ruidoso Select Quarter Horse Sale at $500,000. Aside from career earnings of $571,431, Valiant Hero has become a bright breeding prospect since he is sired by the all-time leading sire of money earners and out of a two-time champion who was also the broodmare of the year.

Valiant Hero, who joined the Mike Joiner stable following Jack Brooks’ retirement, has won seven of 11 starts and began his current winning streak on Dec. 2 when he won the Texas Classic Futurity and was the last horse Brooks saddled during his hall of fame career. The strapping colt then easily won his Heritage Place Derby trial and the Grade 2 finals.

Making his first Ruidoso Downs start since winning his All American Futurity trial over The Crawfish on Aug. 17, Valiant Hero disposed of The Crawfish again in their Rainbow Derby trial by a half length. Valiant Hero raced to the fastest-qualifying time of :21.129 while The Crawfish is the second-fastest qualifier at :21.223.

One of the five horses Jones has in the Rainbow Derby, Rachel Vargas’ The Crawfish (Mr Jess Perry-Jukebox Dash by First Down Dash) returned from a seven-month layoff to finish second to Valiant Hero.

Before his layoff, he qualified for the Grade 1 Golden State Million and the Los Alamitos Two Million (G1) futurities.

Separate Bet (Separatist-Better Bet On Me by First Down Dash) has been sensational in his two Ruidoso Downs starts since returning from a winter layoff. In his return to racing, he broke the Ruidoso Downs’ 400-yard track record when he won an allowance race in :19.18 and then won his Rainbow Derby trial by more than 2 lengths in :21.228, the third-fastest time.

Also representing Jones are three horses who competed in the Ruidoso Derby (G1) — runner-up La Lalique, fourth-place finisher Twoforthedough and seventh-place finisher Already Rude.

Okey Dokey Fantasy (Okey Dokey Dale-Fontanas Fantasy by Lazbuddie) squeezed into the derby finals through a shake for the final qualifying spot with Gus The Greek after they were each timed in :21.577 in their trials. Okey Dokey Fantasy finished second in his derby trial behind Separate Bet.

Owned by Okey Dokey Joint Venture and trained by Sleepy Gilbreath, Okey Dokey Fantasy finished in a dead heat for the win in last year’s Ruidoso Futurity (G1), won the Manor Downs Futurity (G1) and was second in the inaugural running of the $300,000 Southwest Juvenile Championship.