Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino
Sunday, January 29, 2017
by Eric Alwan
Conquest Mo Money dominates by 11-lengths in $106,000 Riley Allison Stakes
Conquest Mo Money looked terrific on Sunday powering away an 11-length winner in the 54th running of the $106,000 Riley Allison Stakes at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino.
Racing for leading owners Judge Lanier Racing, Conquest Mo Money stamped himself as an early contender for the $800,000 Sunland Derby (Gr. III) to be run on Sunday, March 26. The promising three-year-old son of Uncle Mo raced forwardly into the first turn and prompted a steady tempo into the backstretch. Although threatened and headed by Underwood down the backstretch, Conquest Mo Money quickened and regained control of the lead passing the half-mile marker.
Heading into the stretch run, Conquest Mo Money and put his rivals to sleep and opened up a sizeable advantage. He and jockey Jorge Carreno sailed through the stretch to win by double digits and stopped the clock for the one mile distance in a fast 1:36.42. The time just missed the track record of 1:34.62 set by Buddha in 2008. The winner returned a generous $29.80 to win.
The talented Miguel Hernandez trains the up and coming sophomore star for Tom and Sandy McKenna of Judge Lanier Racing. Their recent acquisition is unbeaten in two starts over Sunland Park soil. They took home the $60,000 winner’s paycheck. A very happy Tom McKenna indicated in the winner’s circle that the Sunland Derby come be the next objective.
Wine N Divine finished made a belated run to gain second place with jockey Miguel Perez. The runner-up earned $22,000 for owner-trainer Greg Green. The 2-1 favorite Underwood made a move midway through the feature but could not sustain his momentum and ended up third.
Photos courtesy of: Coady Photography
