Arabians Rally for Darley Position at End of the Year Stakes

Arabians Rally for Darley Position at End of the Year Stakes

by Steve Andersen

I

t’s easy to feel sorry for Burning Fancy (Burning Sand x Sayquins And Lace by Sayhi MC). She ended 2009 in outstanding form, winning three stakes by a combined 36 ¾ lengths in Texas from mid-October to mid-December.

In most seasons, her 2009 record of 6 wins in 8 starts and earnings of $53,135 would be enough to secure for her the Darley Award as the champion three-year-old filly. But in 2009, she may fall short. For once, Darley Award bettors have a dilemma in the three-year-old filly category thanks to the presence of Sand Witchh (Burning Sand x *Tornade de Loup by Tornado de Syrah).

Sand Witchh, unbeaten in five starts and the winner of $63,360, beat Burning Fancy twice in stakes at Delaware Park in the summer, and holds an edge in the considerations. At the least, it was a deep category.

With or without a championship trophy, Burning Fancy’s performances were the highlight of late autumn Arabian racing in Texas. Owned by Marvin Powell and trained by Jerry Partin, Burning Fancy was simply unbeatable in stakes around one turn.

After winning the Rancho Milagro Stakes by 11 ¼ lengths in October and the Mandolynn Hill-ARC Stakes by 13 ¾ lengths in November, both at Lone Star Park, Burning Fancy ended her 2009 season with another convincing win, in the fillies division of the $21,150 Lone Star Arabian Futurity by 11 ¾ lengths in the mud at Sam Houston Race Park on December 12.

Ridden by regular rider Kelsi Purcell, Burning Fancy ran six furlongs in 1:19.96 in the Lone Star Arabian Futurity, leaving her jockey delighted. “I couldn’t have asked for a better performance,” Purcell said after the race. “She just did everything right.”

Back in the fall, Partin echoed those sentiments. The 81-year-old trainer was left stunned by Burning Fancy’s performances, wondering how much more ability the filly would show. “There is something about that horse that makes me scratch my head,” he said at the time.

Go on, Jerry. Keep scratching your head. The rest of the racing world will stand back in awe. Her latest win is available for viewing on YouTube, all 80 seconds of her basically galloping on the lead. It’s hard to believe that back in the summer she was beaten twice by Sand Witchh — by 7 ½ lengths in the Betsy Ross Distaff and 24 ¾ lengths in the Dr. Sam Harrison Distaff — but then several months passed before the end of the year and young horses can change rapidly at that point of their careers.

In the Lone Star Arabian Futurity, Burning Fancy outclassed Brulante (Burning Sand x *Ammante by Dormane) who could only finish second after winning her first two starts in Texas. Alla Masquerade, who won the filly division of the Mandolynn Hill Farm Stallion Futurity in her career debut at Lone Star Park in November, held third in the field of eight.

For a filly that may not win a championship,

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Burning Fancy (Burning Sand x Sayquins And Lace

by Sayhi MC), owned by Marvin Powell and trained

by Jerry Partin, ended her successful 2009 season with another win: The $21,150 Lone Star Arabian Futurity (fillies division) at Sam Houston Race Park on December 12.

JACK COADY PHOTO

Burning Fancy certainly has the career achievements of past champions in that division. From 2000-08, the nine fillies that were honored with Darley Awards as outstanding three-year-old fillies had the following things in common — they won at least one stakes, and earned at least $47,000.

Burning Fancy earned more prize money in 2009 than Dixie Dance (the 2008 winner), Delphine (2004), and Nafissah (2003) and won more stakes as a three-year-old than More Adoraable (2002) and Tu For All (2001), both of whom had one.

The championship of the 2009 three-year-old male division of 2009 is not much easier to solve.

A Ladys Man (*Nivour de Cardonne x PTF Lady Wiking by *Wiking) was unbeaten in three starts, including the Delaware Juvenile Championship in his stakes debut in late October. Quite A Show (*Falina des Fabries x French Braids by *Virgule Al Maury) was unbeaten in three starts, including the Liberty Bell Stakes and Alec Courtelis Juvenile in the summer. Lacy Crazy Vaz (*Chndaka x Lacy-Jay by Burning Sand) was the top horse of the fall in

Texas, winning the colts division of the Mandolynn Hill Farms Stallion Stakes at Lone Star Park in November and the colts division of the Lone Star Arabian Futurity at Sam Houston on December 12.

Lacy Crazy Vaz ran six furlongs in the Lone Star Arabian Futurity in 1:21.83, finishing 1 3/4 lengths in front of Macho Maury (Mucho Caliente x Mistry Unveiled by *Virgule Al Maury). Ridden by Eduard Tejera for owner Sam Vasquez and trainer Juan Ascencio, Lacy Crazy Vaz was fourth early, took the lead on the turn and was two lengths in front in mid-stretch. Lacy Crazy Vaz, who earned $27,246 in 2009, raced only in Texas. Vasquez said in the fall that the colt’s career debut was delayed until the summertime after a potential start at Arapahoe Park in Denver was missed when the race did not draw sufficient entries.

The depth of the three-year-old male and female divisions in 2009 could make for an intriguing 2010 season on various circuits around the nation. This year, the stakes calendar for four-year-olds has been altered. The Drinkers of the Wind Derby and Daughters of the Desert Oaks are

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no longer being run at Los Alamitos in January, leaving a noticeable void in the wintertime schedule. Los Alamitos is currently not offering Arabian racing, which is a fixture on the summertime fair circuit in the northern part of the state.

Instead of starting the year at Los Alamitos, the first major stakes for the division will be the Texas Six Shooter Stakes and Yellow Rose Stakes at Sam Houston on March 12, which will be held in conjunction with Darley Award weekend.

There may be an element of history to the 2009 Darley Awards. If Thoroughbred (TC Tomtyr x *Vanessa du Loup

by Manganate) can win the Horse of the Year title, he will be only the third horse to gain that award twice. NF Proof was Horse of the Year in 1989-90, and DA Adios earned that award in 2002 and 2004.

Owned by Guy Neivens, and trained by Ron Martino, Thoroughbred has to outpoll Sand Witchh, among others, to win the title. Thoroughbred won 2 of 6 starts and $62,534 in 2009. He placed in two stakes, and ended the

season with a victory in the $75,000 Delaware Classic Handicap over 1 ¼ miles. Aside from Sand Witchh, the other finalists for Horse of the Year are Dixies Valentine, the leading four-year-old filly of 2009; Qjuick Sand PW, one of the leading four-year-old males of 2009, and So Big Is Better, an older horse who won stakes at Delaware Park and Lone Star Park.

Dixies Valentine, the champion three-year-old filly of 2008, is expected to earn the four-year-old filly title.

Trained by breeder Bill Waldron for Neivens, Dixies Valentine (*Nivour de Cardonne x Dixie Darlene by *Wiking) won all three of her 2009 starts — an allowance race by 19 ¾ lengths, the Grade 1 Cre-Run Oaks by 20 lengths and the Delaware Arabian Distaff Handicap by 10 ¼ lengths. She did not start after July and still has done enough to merit support for Horse of the Year.

Qjuick Sand PW earned more money than any other American-based Arabian racehorse in 2009 — $74,895 — doing so by winning 4 of 13 starts. Trained by Helen Shelley for her husband Warren, Qjuick Sand PW (Burning

Lacy Crazy Vaz (*Chndaka x LacyJay by Burning Sand) owned by Sam Vasquez and trained by Juan Ascencio, was the top horse of the fall in Texas. He won the colts division of the Lone Star Arabian Futurity at Sam Houston Race Park on December 12.

H-145744

JACK COADY PHOTO

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1. Seven-year-old stallion Thoroughbred (TC Tomtyr x *Vanessa du Loup by Manganate), along with threeyear-old mare Sand Witchh (Burning Sand x Tornade de Loup by Tornado de Syrah) are top contenders for Darley Awards Horse of the Year. Other finalists include 2. Dixies Valentine (*Nivour de Cardonne x Dixie Darlene by *Wiking), the leading four-yearold filly of 2009; 3. Qjuick Sand PW (Burning Sand x Doya Juana Dance by Juan de Shawn), one of the leading fouryear-old males of 2009; and 4. So Big Is Better (Burning Sand x WW Mirror Image by ZT Ali Baba), an six-year-old who won stakes at Delaware and Lone Star Parks last year.

1.

Thoroughbred

LONE STAR PARK PHOTO

2.

HOOFPRINTS PHOTO

Sand x Doya Juana Dance by Juan de Shawn) began the year with his biggest win, the Drinkers of the Wind Derby at Los Alamitos. He later won the Texas Six Shooter Stakes at Retama Park (while Sam Houston was undergoing repairs for damage sustained during a 2008 hurricane) and an allowance race at Los Alamitos.

Qjuick Sand PW ’s Horse of the Year hopes were not helped by a nine-race losing streak at the end of 2009, though that span of races did include a second in the Bob Magness Derby at Delaware Park and the Texas Arabian Derby at Retama Park.

The Shelleys campaigned So Big Is Better (Burning Sand x WW Mirror Image by ZT Ali Baba), who won 4 of 6 starts and $53,700 to gain a finalists spot for outstanding older male and outstanding sprinter. He won his only stakes appearance in a sprint, the Mandolynn Hill Farm Stakes at Lone Star Park on November 20.

So Big Is Better’s Horse of the Year hopes were badly

hampered by a fourth-place finish behind Thoroughbred in the Delaware Classic Handicap. A win or a placing in that race would have made him an attractive proposition for the coveted trophy.

The Bob Magness Derby in May was won by Theoretically (*Doran SBFAR x First Ladie by Monarch AH) and it represented his final start in the United States.

He was later acquired privately by Athba Stables and spent the late summer and fall racing in England and France.

In four starts in group stakes in those countries, Theoretically’s best finish was a fourth in the Shadwell Manganate Stakes at Deauville, France, in August, followed by a fifth-place finish in a Group 3 race in Bath, England, and a fifth to General in the Group 1 Qatar Arabian World Cup in Paris in early October, a race worth approximately $650,000. He will be campaigned overseas in 2010.

Jessys Princess (Burning Sand x Noble Princess by Monarch AH) was the 2008 champion older female, but

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3.

DICK REED PHOTO

4.

So Big Is Better

LOS ALAMITOS PUBLICITY PHOTO

she could lose that title in 2009 to Rolly Polly (*Falina des Fabries x SS Nellie Bly by *Negor), the champion three-year-old filly of 2006 and four-year-old filly of 2007.

As a six-year-old in 2009, Rolly Polly won 2 of 4 starts and $42,402, one less win and two fewer starts than Jessys Princess, but more than $9,000 in seasonal earnings. Rolly Polly’s season was highlighted by a victory in the Buzz Brauninger Stakes at Delaware Park, the most important race of the year for older females.

Steve Andersen is a correspondent for Daily Racing Form.

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