ALBUQUERQUE — Hestan led gate to wire under jockey Jose Enriquez, scoring a narrow win as the longest shot on the board in Sunday’s $365,140 Zia Quarter Horse Futurity at Albuquerque Downs.
Trained by Omar Vargas, the son of Eye Am King broke alertly from the inside post, battled for command the length of the stretch alongside post time favorite Baby Daddy Cartel and proved best by a neck at odds of more than 27-to-1, racing 400 yards in a quick final time of 19.087 seconds over a fast track.
Owned by Tungsten Racing Partnership and Rancho El 48 LLC, Hestan earned a spot in the Zia QH Futurity starting gate after narrowly winning his trial over this course on July 3 in a time of 19.73 seconds.
With a lifetime record of three wins from four starts, Hestan—bred by MJ Farms and a $200,000 purchase at last year’s Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale—has now amassed more than $170,000 in earnings. He scored a victory in a trial heat for the Mountain Top Futurity and finished third in the Mountain Top Juvenile Stakes.
Hestan’s win paid $56.80 to his backers at the windows. The $2 Vargas-trained exacta with Baby Daddy Cartel returned $288. Baby Daddy Cartel, also owned by Tungsten Racing Partnership, was the prohibitive 7-to-10 post time favorite with Noe Garcia, Jr. in the irons. He saw his four-race win streak end with the narrow defeat.
Daddys China was third, while Acrylic rounded out the top four finishers. Shafer and Miss Desirio 16 were both scratched earlier in the day, reducing the Zia Futurity field to eight starters.
King Estate rallied late under jockey Christian Cardenas to score an impressive, late-running victory in the $203,648 Zia QH Derby (R-G2) Saturday night at Albuquerque Downs.
Trained by Rodolfo Valles for owners Lifes A Dream Farm and Racing LLC, King Estate was a shade off the early pace before mounting a late bid, outnodding Cq Coyame Jessy at the wire to win by a neck, stopping the clock in a time of 19.21 seconds over 400 yards on a fast track.
King Estate, one of two qualifiers in the Derby for Valles, picked up the first stakes win of his career with this victory. A three-time winner from five starts, the son of Eye Am King earned his way into the Derby after winning his trial heat by nearly two lengths on July 4. King Estate pads his career bankroll to more than $143,000.
Sent off at odds of 4.90-to-1, King Estate returned $11.80 to his winning backers. The $2 exacta with runnerup Cq Coyame Jessy and jockey Noe Garcia, Jr. paid back $75.40.
Sya Narra finished third with Pour Me A Drinkk settling for fourth.
Post time favorite Luxurie, also trained by Valles and ridden by Joseph Belloc, Jr. didn’t break alerty at the start and finished eighth in the 10-horse field.