ALBUQUERQUE — Trainer Omar Vargas will be looking to complete a sweep of the 2-year-old New Mexico-bred futurities Sunday at Albuquerque Downs when he sends Baby Daddy Cartel into the starting gate for the $365,139 Zia Quarter Horse Futurity.
Owned by Tungsten Racing Partnership and bred in New Mexico by Paul Cervantes, Baby Daddy Cartel will seek his fifth straight win and third career stakes victory. He loads into post four under Noe Garcia Jr. for the 400-yard dash, scheduled as the ninth race on the 10-race program with a post time of 4:50 p.m.
Baby Daddy Cartel, winner of the Mountain Top Futurity over this course last month, also owns a victory in the New Mexican Spring Fling Stakes at Sunland Park last April and has earned nearly $190,000. He won his trial heat for the Zia QH Futurity on July 3 by nearly three lengths, earning a spot in the starting gate as the fifth-fastest qualifier with a time of 19.568 seconds.
Vargas will saddle three additional starters in the Zia Futurity, including railsitter Hestan, Daddys China and Miss Desirio.
Trainer Clinton Crawford will saddle Acrylic, the Zia Futurity’s fastest qualifier, who won his trial heat by a half-length in 19.363 seconds. Owned and bred in New Mexico by Pierre and Leslie Amestoy, Acrylic has two wins from three career starts. The son of Big Daddy Cartel will break from post six under Jacob Enriquez.
Trainer Rodolfo Valles has a pair of starters in the Zia Futurity, including Shafer, who will look to bounce back from a dull effort as the post-time favorite in the Mountain Top Futurity. The son of Big Daddy Cartel was a narrow winner of his trial heat in 19.582 seconds and will be piloted once again by Christian Cardenas.
Luxurie will look to add another stakes win to an already impressive resume when he heads into the starting gate as the morning-line favorite in Saturday’s Grade 2 Zia Quarter Horse Derby under the lights at Albuquerque Downs.
The son of Big Daddy Cartel earned his way into the starting gate after finishing as the fastest qualifier when trials were held here July 4, sprinting to a narrow win in a time of 19.198 seconds for 400 yards, picking up his seventh win in nine career starts.
Trained by Valles, Luxurie already owns a pair of stakes wins, coming off a victory in the Mountain Top Derby over this course June 13. Last year, he won the Mountain Top Futurity at Ruidoso Downs and has earned more than $325,000.
Luxurie, the 3-to-1 favorite on the morning line, will break from post five under Joseph Belloc Jr. in the Zia QH Derby. The race features a purse of $203,648 and is scheduled as the ninth race on a 10-race card with a post time of 9:25 p.m.
Trainer Gerald Marr will be represented by Pour Me A Drinkk, the 7-to-2 second choice on the morning line, with James Flores expected to ride.
Pour Me A Drinkk, the fourth-fastest qualifier in trials earlier this month, is looking for his second stakes victory, coming off a convincing score in last year’s New Mexico Classic Futurity at Zia Park. Owned by Bob McClure and Sandra K. Barrett and bred in New Mexico by Fred Danley, the son of Prospect to the Top finished sixth as the post-time favorite in the Mountain Top Derby last month.
Breaking from post seven in the 10-horse field, Pour Me A Drinkk has won six times from 11 starts, including three victories in six starts over this course.