Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino
Sunday, February 19, 2017
by Eric Alwan
Running Dragon stays sharp in $85,000 NMHBA Quarter Horse Stakes
Running Dragon remained razor sharp and sped clear to a definitive win in the $85,000 NMHBA Quarter Horse Stakes at 400 yards. The sensational New Mexico-bred filly won for the 9th time in 11 career starts. The 2017 Shue Fly champion seemed to have matters clearly in hand by mid-stretch and went on to win by one and one-half lengths in a time of 19.431 seconds, good for a 92 speed index.
Adrian A. Ramos rode the 1-5 favorite for winning trainer Samuel Robledo and winning owner By By JJ LLC led by Nahum Prieto of El Paso, Texas. The commanding winner earned a $51,000 pay day, pushing her considerable lifetime earnings to $521,641. The daughter of Zulu Dragon remains the leading New Mexico-bred three-year-old Quarter Horse.
As a two-year-old, Running Dragon won the New Mexican Spring Futurity at Sunland Park and the Mountain Top Futurity at Ruidoso Downs.
Peyote Run, a near 35-1 longshot, outran his odds to get second place under jockey Mauro Salcedo. Go Daddy Gone finished a head back in third place.
Live racing resumes on Tuesday with an all-Thoroughbred race card starting at 1:30 p.m. Sunland Park race replays can be viewed on You Tube. Just type “Sunland Park RacetrackCasino.”
Photos courtesy of: Coady Photography
