Cat Scratch Dash Wins Colors of the Alamo Paint and Appaloosa Futurity

SELMA, TX—AUGUST 2, 2014—Cat Scratch Dash rolled to a half-length win over Wb Valentina in the $20,000 Colors of the Alamo Paint and Appaloosa Futurity at Retama Park Saturday night. Texas Streak finished a nose back in the show position.

Alvin Francis, Jr. saddled Cat Scratch Dash to her second win four starts this season for owner Martha Navarez. Ridden by jockey Randy Edison, the sorrel colt completed the 350 yards in :18.023 seconds. Bred in Oklahoma by Richard Joneson, the Country Quick Dash colt out of Cat Scratch Fefurr, by Apollo (TB), earned $11,000 for the win. Cat Scratch Dash has earned $18,396 this season.

Wb Valentina is a homebred Pyc Paint Your Wagon daughter bred-and-owned by Wendell Blankenship. Gary Jacobs trains the bay out of Moonpie Marauder, by Royal Shake Em. Ridden by Luis Vivanco, Wb Valentina picked up $3,400 for her effort.

Texas Streak earned $2,000 for owner Wendy Lynne Ingersoll. Travis Mullins trains the Texas Six gelding out of Ten N Six, by Streakin Six. Ivan Carnero was aboard the H.T. and Kay Churchwell Oklahoma-bred.

Completing the field were Furious Snow, Easy Cash Fenimore, Flaming Hero, Camo Cowgirl, Vp Slick Winner, Jesse One Two Three and Jewel Time.

Courtesy of AQHA New - a service of the American Quarter Horse Association.

Cashing Teller (Furrtreeous - Teller Shes Lucky, Agouti)

Fair Meadows at Tulsa – July 26, 2014 – by Michael Compton for Speedhorse magazine

The Speedhorse Futurity-G2 at Fair Meadows on July 26 proved to be a coming out party of sorts for young stallion Furrtreeous, whose offspring—Cashing Teller and Play Harder—swept the top two placings of the $171,650 event.

Both Cashing Teller and Play Harder entered the starting gate for the Speedhorse Futurity as the fastest qualifiers for the 350-yard fixture, finishing only a neck apart in the July 12th trial heat won by Cashing Teller.

In the main event, the promising youngsters showed the trial race was no fluke. The pair hit the wire in the Futurity with only a neck separating them, Cashing Teller again proving best by the identical slim margin under Agustin Silva for trainer Rodney Reed.

Cashing Teller broke beautifully and immediately set sail for the front. With a couple of right-handed reminders from Silva through the lane, Cashing Teller ran straight and true, reaching strongly for the finish in the late stages.

Cashing Teller winning the Speedhorse Futurity at Fair Meadows © Coady Photography

Racing along the inside, Play Harder (Furrtreeous-Kitty D Ville) offered another game try for trainer Clinton Crawford but was second best for the second time under Ivan Camero.

Finishing 3rd was another Reed charge, CBS Chocoletgold (Jess Louisiana Blue-Miss Sound Viking) and jockey G.R. Carter Jr.  The 10-1 shot mustered a late rally to grab the show spot for owner and breeder Wesley Ann Anglin.

In notching his first stakes victory, Cashing Teller stopped the clock in :17.572, improving on his trial time of :17.62, and earned a speed index of 91.

Bred in Oklahoma by Dr. Curtis Smith, Cashing Teller is co-owned by Smith and Sheila Reed. The gelding is out of the multiple stakes-placed mare Teller Shes Lucky, who finished second in the 2007 Remington Park Futurity-G1.

The winner’s sire Furrtreeous, a four-time Grade 1 competitor, stands at Richard and Lisa Joneson’s Joneson Ranch in Shawnee, OK.

“It was a great confidence builder for us and the stallion. We’ve had some success through the years but have had kind of a dry spell, so it was huge for us,” Richard Joneson said. “I was thrilled to death that they both ran so well.”

Joneson, who watched the race from the rail, admittedly was focused on both Cashing Teller and Play Harder, but had a stronger rooting interest in Play Harder, a colt he owns and bred.

“I was focused on those two runners, but I was hoping mine would push on,” Joneson said. “He came close. They were matched stride for stride all the way down there.”

As far as similarities between the top two finishers, Joneson noted, “They’re both well-muscled horses with good bone and they both have a lot of try. They definitely left it all on the racetrack. I was really proud.”

It’s fitting that the offspring of Furrtreeous dominated the race. The stallion has a rich history with Speedhorse stakes events. He captured the 2007 Speedhorse Gold & Silver Cup-RG1 and his dam, Beeline Feline, won the 1998 Speedhorse Gold & Silver Cup-RG3.

A Black Zipper (Count Corona-Stayin on Task), Smart Money First (First Smart Money-Beduinos Chick Jet), Docs Dusty Dale (Okey Dokey Dale-Cinna Bul), First Prize Dive (Ivory James-First Prize Pearl), DK Cruiser (Separatist-Electroluminescence), Glitterata (Ivory James-Game Snowlady) & Sir Angel (Teller Cartel-Simply an Angel) followed.