Racing


Trainer Gene Burden Saddles Second Stakes Winner On Saturday Card in Sunburst Stakes
In a blanket finish, One Lethal Blaze (#9) gets up over Sparkling Heart (#8) and Penny Snatcher (#7) in Saturday's Sunburst Stakes at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino.

© Coady Photography
Trainer Gene Burden Saddles Second Stakes Winner On Saturday Card in Sunburst Stakes

SUNLAND PARK, NM—APRIL 12, 2014—One Lethal Blaze used a late rally under jockey Sergio Becerra, Jr. to get a neck win over Sparkling Heart in Saturday's $85,230 Sunburst Stakes at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino. Penny Snatchin finished another neck off the leaders in third.

Gene Burden, who had just saddled West Texas Juvenile winner Redneck Baptism in the prior race, got his second stakes on Saturday' card with the 3-year-old Chicks A Blazin filly out of Shez Lethal, by First Down Dash. David Valdez owns the lightly races New Mexico-bred making only her fourth career start. She completed the 350 yards in :17.284 seconds.

Bred by Mike Abraham, One Lethal Blaze finished fourth in the RG2 Shue Fly Stakes in January. She used the $51,000 Sunburst winner's purse to nearly double her earnings mark to $98,970.

The winning connections of One Lethal Blaze accept the Sunburst Stakes trophy on Saturday afternoon at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino.
© Coady Photography
Sparkling Heart bounced off a seventh place Allowance effort on February 18 to earn $18,700 for owner Santos Dominguez. Jose Luis Muela conditions the First Moonflash filly from the Ronas Ryon mare Heart Sparks. Lorraine Esquibel Estate bred the black filly in New Mexico. Alonso Rivera had the riding call.

Also a finalist in the Shue Fly Stakes(RG2) last January, trainer Wes Giles saddled homebred Penny Snatchin for Jill Giles. The Gone To The Mountain filly picked $8,500 to boost her career mark to $45,678. Jaime Leos rode the bay miss out of Himaintenancegal, by Dean Miracle.

Completing the official order of finish were Prayz, Express In, Speedy Habits, Aj Hardwood, White Wine Glass, French Moonflash and Flash of Memories, who was disqualified from 8th to last for interference.

Live racing resumes on Sunday at 12:55 p.m. The Grade 1 $267,648 West Texas Futurity (5th race) at 300 yards and the $75,000 Sunland Park Handicap (10th race) at one and one eighth miles are the featured races.