RAINBOW DERBY WON BY SEPARATE BET

COURTESY OF STALLIONESEARCH.COM


Separate Bet easily wins the $447,230 Rain-
bow Derby(G1) on Saturday at Ruidoso.
Photo by Bill Pitt, Jr.

Separate Bet Impresses With Rainbow Derby Victory



RUIDOSO DOWNS, NM—JULY 21, 2007—Separate Bet ran a near-perfect race to keep his 2007 race record perfect with a front-running victory in the Grade 1, $447,230 Rainbow Derby on Saturday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs.
It was the richest running of the Rainbow Derby since Florentine won in 1987 and the Rainbow Derby should be the third-richest derby of 2007.

Separate Bet raced to his third win from three starts this year with a dominating two-and-three quarter length win over favored Valiant Hero, who got off to a tardy start, in :20.97 for the 440 yards on a track listed as muddy. Strawkins set the track and stakes record of :20.73 when he won the 2006 Rainbow Derby.

“He stumbled a hair at the start,” said winning rider Freddie Martinez. “By the second jump he got going.” There was never any doubt of the race’s outcome once the Paul Jones-trained gelding got rolling and the 8-5 second choice easily recorded his first Grade 1 victory.

The Crawfish, another member of the Jones stable, was a half length behind Valiant Hero in the 7-horse field. Following The Crawfish under the wire were Twoforthedough, Mr Gordon Shultz, Already Rude and Royal Snow 468. The field was reduced after the scratches of Okey Dokey Fantasy, La Lalique and Voght's Gold.

The Separatist gelding joined the Jones stable this year after being trained by retired Jack Brooks last year to a win in the Rainbow Juvenile and qualifying for the All American Futurity.

In his first 2007 start, Separate Bet set the Ruidoso Downs 400-yard track record with his :19.18 allowance victory by more than three lengths. He then won his Rainbow Derby trial by more than two lengths and his time of :21.228 for the 440 yards was the third-fastest qualifying time.

“We were expecting a lot out of him,” Jones said. “He came back and ran really well today.

“We’re pointing him to the All American Derby and the Champion Of Champions.”

Valiant Hero, another former Brooks trainee, was the even-money favorite after winning his four previous starts, including two stakes wins and recording the fastest time to the Rainbow Derby. The First Down Dash colt started his winning streak with a win in the Grade 1, $1 million Texas Classic Futurity for Brooks and took the Grade 2 Heritage Place Derby for trainer Mike Joiner before moving to Ruidoso Downs. A sale-topping $500,000 purchase at the Ruidoso Quarter Horse Sale in 2005, Valiant Hero won his Rainbow Derby trial in :21.129, the quickest time from three trials.

Third-place finisher The Crawfish returned from a 7-month layoff to finish second to Valiant Hero in their Rainbow Derby trial. Last year, the Mr Jess Perry colt qualified for the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million and the Grade 1 Golden State Million.

Separate Bet returned $5.20, $2.60 and $2.60. Valiant Hero paid $2.60 and $2.40 while The Crawfish was worth $3.00 to show.