Apocalyptical Jess Wins All American Futurity
The gelding earns his first stakes win in American Quarter Horse racing's richest race.
Apocalyptical Jess helped his trainer, Blane Wood, make history, as the sorrel American Quarter Horse son of Apollitical Jess scored a half-length victory in the 440-yard, $3 million All American Futurity (G1) at Ruidoso Downs. Ridden by Raul Ramirez Jr. for owner Bill T. Robbins and sent to post as the 5-2 second choice in the field of nine, Apocalyptical Jess posted his first stakes win. He completed the 440 yards in :21.393. "I wasn’t nervous," Robbins said. "No one believes me when I say that. I wanted three things - a safe race for every horse, a clean break and a clean race, and I wanted my horse to run the fastest that he could. If he did that, whether he ran first or ninth, I had no complaints. I thought he’d be up at the front if we got all three of those, but I wasn’t nervous.
The second I saw him cross the finish line, I started shaking and I haven’t stopped yet. It is an amazing feeling. It is humbling; I don’t think it has sunk in yet. You realize the combination of hard work that goes into it, from the breeding aspect of it, the training team, the jockey's ride and the luck, you start calculating the odds of standing here, and they’re pretty slim."
Wood's father, Leo Wood, won the 1979 All American Futurity with champion Pie In The Sky, making them the only father-son team to win the All American Futurity. "This is what I've lived for, besides my family, all my life," the emotional trainer said. "It's awesome. Now I want to win it again."
Leave your comments
Post comment as a guest