Preview Racing


Sam Houston Race Park Presents Friday Stakes Tripleheader
TQHQ Sale Futurity(RG3) winner Dak will be back in action in Friday’s 350-yard, $20,000 Sam Houston Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park on Friday.

© Coady Photography
Sam Houston Race Park Presents Friday Stakes Tripleheader

BY MICHAEL CUSORTELLI

HOUSTON, TX—MAY 15, 2019—A full field of 10 sprinters has been entered in Friday’s 350-yard, $20,000 Sam Houston Stakes, one of three official American Quarter Horse stakes to be contested at Sam Houston Race Park on Friday.

Blue Star Racing’s Dak and Sarah Huskey’s Serendipity Rocks lead the field in the Sam Houston Stakes. A 3-year-old Dominyun gelding trained by Leon Bard, Dak will be making his first official start since November 10, when he ran second in the 400-yard, $53,000 Texas Classic Juvenile Stakes at Lone Star Park. The gelding has earned $232,265 from five starts, and his two wins include a half-length victory in the 350-yard, $479,000 TQHA Sale Futurity (RG2) at Retama Park in July.

Dak drew post 8 and will be ridden by Francisco Calderon.

Serendipity Rocks is a homebred 4-year-old son of Rock Solid Jess trained by Esteban Rubio. The gelding has won five of 10 outs in Texas and Oklahoma, including last year’s Sam Houston Derby (G3), and he has earned $107,871. The complete lineup, in post position order including jockey assignments:

  1. Potus (Noe Villatoro)
  2. Mystical Jess (Victor M. Urieta Jr.)
  3. One Sweet Merlot (Rodrigo Vallejo)
  4. Louisiana Seis (Nestor Duran)
  5. Serendipity Rocks (Jose I. Martinez)
  6. Cali Swaggs (Francisco Mendez)
  7. Coronas On The Coast (Claudio P. Aguilar)
  8. Dak (Francisco Calderon)
  9. FM Im A Zatanaz Too (Manuel Gutierrez)
  10. DM La Jolla (Eddie Sanchez)

Diamond L Racing’s Jack Ketel, a 7-year-old son of champion Ketel Won trained by Arnold Lewis, will make his season debut in the 870-yard, $15,000 Governor’s Cup Marathon Stakes. Jack Ketel is coming off of a 2018 campaign during which the gelding banked $36,010 from 10 starts and scored a four-length victory in the Governor’s Cup Marathon. Jack Ketel drew post 5 and will be ridden by Eliazar Vera.

Also on Friday, stakes winner Cadillac Cash will make his first start at the distance in the 110-yard, $15,000 Texas Twister Stakes. Trained by Arturo Davila III for owner Rolando Morales, the 3-year-old FDD Dynasty colt earned $81,434 from seven outs during his juvenile campaign, and his three wins included a nose victory in the $84,000 Gillespie County Firecracker Futurity on July 21. Cadillac Cash drew post 2 and will be ridden by Eddie Sanchez.

All Sam Houston Race Park races can be seen at Q-RacingVideo.com.