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Apolitical Pac Wins First Juvenile Trial, Time Holds Up As Quickest Mark
Apolitical Pac, under jockey Russel Haldey, setting the fastest qualifying time in the John Deere Ruidoso Juvenile Challenge trials on Friday afternoon.

© Gay Harris / Ruidoso Downs
Apolitical Pac Wins First Juvenile Trial, Time Holds Up As Quickest Mark

RUIDOSO DOWNS, NM—JULY 18, 2014—Bobby Cox’s homebred Apolitical Pac raced 350 yards in :17.388 in the first of six trials to the Grade 3, $62,370 John Deere Ruidoso Downs Juvenile Challenge and the time held up throughout Friday afternoon as the fastest mark.

The two-year-olds with the 10-fastest times qualify to return for the John Deere Ruidoso Downs Juvenile Challenge on August 2.

Apolitical Pac impressed in the first trial when she won by one-length as the 3-10 favorite. She pulled away from her rivals and finished under a firm hold.

The daughter of Apolitical Jess was making her first start since she crossed the finish line in sixth place in the Heritage Place Futurity, but was disqualified and placed in 10th position. She was also fourth in the in the $391,000 Oklahoma Futurity. A Texas homebred for Cox, she is out of the First Down Dash mare Kpax.

B. Russel Hadley was aboard for trainer John Buchanan. Kpax also produced 7th qualifier Yurman, a Bigtime Favorite gelding owned-and-bred by Cox, trained by Buchanan and ridden by Hadley.

Moonstruck Love, under jockey Esgar Ramirez, winning the sixth trial to post the second fastest qualifying time. © Gay Harris / Ruidoso Downs
Jose Luis Ozuna’s Moonstruck Love, a colt by last year's leading first crop sire First Moonflash, won the sixth trial in :17.398 for the second-fastest time. The Paul Jones-trained New Mexico-bred scored her second win from four starts by three quarters of a length. Mike Abraham bred the filly out of Authorized Love, by Dooley Authorized.

Heritage Place Futurity winner Lovethewayyoulie, the third-ranked two-year-old in the AQHA Racing-Horseplayer.com weekly poll, finished second in the final trial. She made the finals with the eighth-fastest time of :17.557. The Tempting Dash filly from the Toby Keeton barn was making her first start since winning the Grade 1, $1 million Heritage Place Futurity by a nose on May 31. Conda Maze and Tyler Graham are the owners.

For the list of John Deere Ruidoso Juvenile finalists, times, sires, dams, owners, breeders, trainers and jockeys CLICK HERE.

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