This Is An Eagle flies to victory in $483,600 Futurity

This Is An Eagle snared Saturday night’s $483,600 Sam Houston Race Park Futurity, and he did it with an assist from a rival horseman.

Owner Mary Lynne Thompson of Navasota had purchased the horse for $100,000.

After that, trainer Leon Bard said, “We took this horse home and babied him for a while.”

Pete Scarmardo, who sent a rival into the same race, helped raise the winner. Scarmardo’s runner — This Is A Deal Too — was unplaced in the SHRP Futurity, the richest race run each year in Texas.

“This Is An Eagle runs with a big heart,” jockey Francisco Calderon said. “He doesn’t like to get pushed in (morning) workouts. But he also has his likes, like running. In a race, he just keeps going.”

Bard said the winner, who clocked 16.54 seconds in the 330-yard dash, would head for Ruidoso Downs, where qualifying could put him in the Sept. 4 All-American Futurity. This year’s race carries a $3 million purse.

Just before the start of the Sam Houston Futurity, Angel Sanchez-trained Nocturnes reared in the starting gate, fell and was scratched from the field.

In the $197,000 Sam Houston Derby, owner Rachuan Suarez made the right decision on So Rapido, who sped home in first place.

Suarez, a resident of Vera Cruz, had been racing Texas-bred So Rapido in Mexico.

“This horse was beating other horses in Mexico for fun,” Suarez said. “He won two futurities down there. So we decided to bring him back to the U.S. In this race, he showed what an amazing horse he is.”

Winning rider Rodrigo Vallejo chose a different word — “focused.”

“He stays to what he needs to do,” Vallejo said.

His determined finish withstood closing charges by Max and Dash Quick Perry. The latter was well back in the field. Had the race lasted a few extra yards, he would have won it.

Undefeated Daddy’s Blushing won the $48,000 Sam Houston Juvenile Stakes in 16.84 seconds. The 330-yard race was a consolation event for the 10 next fastest runners who failed to qualify for the Sam Houston Futurity.

Daddy’s Blushing won his qualifying heat, but the time did not get him into the feature race. Calderon got the horse out front and, according to Bard, “He was out there the whole way.”

Calderon described Daddy’s Blushing as an ideal ride. In addition to being fast, Calderon said, “He’s spirited, stout and playful. He does everything right.”

Just Another Natural, another Bard runner, closed quickly to take second place.