Race #1 Recap... Sweet Sixteens Twenty-five horses at the recent Ruby Buckle in Guthrie, Oklahoma, broke the 17-second barrier on the WPRA Standard Pattern in the Lazy E Arena.
Sweet Sixteens
Twenty-five horses at the recent Ruby Buckle in Guthrie, Oklahoma, broke the 17-second barrier on the WPRA Standard Pattern in the Lazy E Arena.
By Tanya Randall
A WPRA Standard Pattern is a big run with 90 feet between the first and second barrel, 105 feet from the first and second to the third and 60 feet from the first two barrels to the timer.
At the Ruby Buckle, held April 24-30 in Guthrie, Oklahoma, 25 runs made by 23 horse and rider combinations went below 17-seconds, the longstanding theoretical benchmark for a textbook run.
Better ground conditions in combination with superior genetics and training techniques has dropped that benchmark well into the 16s. The current record for the WPRA Standard Pattern at a Buckle-produced event is a 16.567 set by French Goodbye (The Goodbye Lane x Two Fools Gold x Frenchmans Guy) and Vauna Walker in the first round of the futurity at the inaugural Pink Buckle in October 2018.
Note: The WPRA Standard Pattern is laser staked in the Lazy E, so it stays true to the WPRA’s Rule Book of having the markers (stakes) in the middle of the barrel.
The 16-second runs came from all divisions, from the futurity and derby to youth and open. They were made throughout the week and at different times of during each day.
First out on the ground will always have its advantages, and not surprisingly, 12 of the 16-second runs were made by the first runner after a drag. However, eight were either dead last or second to last in a drag. The fastest run of the event, a 16.639 made by Our First Goodbye (The Goodbye Lane x Jesse James Agent x Jesse James Jr) to win the first round of the Open, was on the very bottom of the ground.
Two other horses joined Our First Goodbye in the 16.6 club: Derby first round winner Cat Mai Flash (Tres Seis x Lulus Stoli x Stoli) clocked a 16.649, while derby second round winner Ima Epic Hustler (Epic Leader x Mitzi Bar None x Bar San Leo) clocked a 16.686.
Cat Mai Flash was one of the two horses in the 16-second club that were off the track. With seven starts on the track, Cat Mai Flash (si 83) had two wins, including his time trail at the Rainbow Futurity, and a third to earn $16,873. For reference, he won $11,626 on one run at Ruby Buckle.
JJ FlyingInTheWind (FuryOfTheWind x JJ Special Tree x Oak Tree Special) also came off the track with one win, four seconds and a third from seven starts, earning $22,632. A 16.906 made JJ FlyingInTheWind (si 95) the first go futurity winner and propelled him to $23,951 in earnings on two-runs at Ruby.
Two horses put together back-to-back sub-17 runs. Ruby Buckle Stallion Al Cappone (Shawne Bug Leo x TR Double Cash x Texas High Dasher) ran a 16.989 and 16.964 to place third in the Derby aggregate and sixth in Open. In the Open, Slicks Lil Amigo (Slick By Design x Bough Chicka Wowwow x Bully Bullion) posted a 16.954 and 16.830 to take third in the Open 1D aggregate.
Three youth riders went under 17 seconds: first go youth winner Dusky Lynn Hall and Troublenverlooksogood (First Down French x Tatango Twist Te x Triple Twist Te) were a 16.985; second go winner Brynn Hinton and GoodTiminStreakAFire (French StreakToVegas x Fire Away Fancy x Good Timin Hank) were a 16.766 with Kynzli Miller and Lil French Flirt (French StreakToVegas x Lil Peppy Valentine x Major Sam Peppy) right behind with a 16.985.
Futurity horses accounted for seven of the 16-second runs, including the champion and reserve champion twins Tres Chasin Babe PZ and Seis On The Chase (Tres Seis x Babe On The Chase x Chasin Firewater), who clocked 16.844 and 16.939, respectively. Other futurity horses with sweet 16s were JL Gun Totin Charmer (JL Reddy To Charm x French Pistol Annie x A Streak Of Fling) with a 16.988; Hyper By Design (Slick By Design x On A Hyper Lady x Mr Hyperspeed) with a 16.852; Five L Rockin Heaven (JL Dash Ta Heaven x Cfour DarkPatchPatsy x Darkelly) with a 16.903 and RP Tres Hombres (Tres Seis x Dashin Julene x Dash Ta Fame) with a 16.962.
Derby horses had 10 of the 16s: Derby and Open Champion KL Touch Of Heaven (JL Dash Ta Heaven x Juniors Country Girl x Deep Note Jr) was a 16.713 in the first round; Ruby and Pink Buckle Stallion SME One Of A Kind (First Down Dash x Sugar Moon Express x Marthas Six Moons) was third in the first round with a 16.843; Dudes Spring Fling (A Streak Of Fling x Dasher Dude x Texas High Dasher) ran a 16.909 for fourth in the first round and Ruby Buckle Stallion Monsterr (Tres Seis x Rosas Cantina CC x Corona Cartel) clocked a 16.973 to be fifth and the aforementioned Al Cappone was sixth. (Incidentally, all the derby horses just mentioned were out of National Finals Rodeo qualifiers or out of NFR producers.)
Rounding out the derby speedsters from the second round were Ima Epic Hustler, AM Regina George (A Smooth Guy x Oro Rose x Man In The Money), who finished second with a 16.874, and Playing In Traffic (Traffic Guy x Explode N Cash x Explode On Demand), who clocked a 16.987 for fourth.
Just four of the 16s came from horses that only ran in the Open: Our First Goodbye and Slicks Lil Amigo as well as Seis Shots Of Crown (Tres Seis x LK Crown Royal x Sun Frost), who clocked a 16.975, and French Zone (Frenchmans Guy x Star Zone x Wild Zone), who had a 16.947.