by Greg Thompson, Stallionesearch.com

RUIDOSO, NM—JULY 7, 2015—Thirty-year-old multiple Grade 1 winning jockey Ricky Ramirez could almost not have asked for a better outcome to come from the trials of the Rainbow Derby(G1) and Rainbow Futurity(G1) this past weekend at Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico.

Ramirez, the first call rider for the Blane and Trey Wood barn, guided Terry and Irene Stennett owned Tres Friends to the fastest qualifying time on Friday (July 3) into the $1 Million futurity in a time of :19.556 for the 400 yards. The clocking posted by the Tres Seis gelding, which was a $60,000 purchase at the 2014 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale, would hold on as the top effort after two-days of qualifying for the Grade 1 event.

Sunday's set of trials at Ruidoso for the Grade 1 $1.06 million Rainbow Derby saw the Woods/Ramirez jockey-trainer combination qualify two runners into the field of the 440 yard event, capped off with one of those two being the 'fastest' qualifier Bodacious Eagle.

Bodacious Eagle, a Johnny Trotter owned son of One Famous Eagle, was a finalist in all three Grade 1 futurities last summer at Ruidoso, finishing fifth in the 2014 edition of the All American Futurity(G1). He also was a finalist in the 2014 Los Alamitos 2 Million Futurity(G1) in December. On Sunday (July 5), he was making his 2015 debut in the Rainbow Derby trial, which resulted in a 99 speed index from the winning effort. The gelding was coming off of an almost seven month layoff since his previous start. The clocking for the 440yd trial effort for this Wood trainee was :21.121.

Ramirez was also aboard the Blane Wood trained Sam Crow, a Terry Baber owned Valiant Hero gelding, when he qualified in the third-fasted position with a time of :21.261. Sam Crow, who ran third in the 2014 All American Futurity(G1) behind JM Miracle, was making his second start in 2015 to qualify into the field of the 2015 G1 Rainbow Derby field. The Valiant Hero gelding was a $40,000 purchase at the 2012 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale in Ruidoso Downs, NM.

When the final times for the last trial race were posted, Bodacious Eagle had given Ramirez both the fastest qualifier in the $1million Rainbow Futurity(G1) and the $1.06 million Rainbow Derby(G1). The Odessa, Texas native seemingly was in the drivers seat going into the finals for a race he was able to garner a victory in aboard Blane Wood trained Ms First Prize Rose in the 2013 G1 Rainbow Futurity.

"It feels great to be in this spot," said Ramirez. "The three horses ran really good to qualify, and we all know its hard to just qualify at all. The Wood's and I won several races back in May for the Ruidoso Futurity and Derby trials, but we were just unlucky that none of our horses qualified into the finals for various circumstances. I feel very fortunate we are in this position with the top qualifiers for both the derby and futurity in the Rainbow."

Born To Race Ride

Growing up in Odessa, Texas, Ramirez cut his teeth in the early days at the match race track in his hometown. Born with a smaller stature that leaned heavily towards the perfect makeup for the building of an elite level jockey, there wasn't a day in Ramirez memory that doesn't include something related to an equine pursuit.

"My father did a little bit of racing riding back in his native Mexico as a younger man," said Ramirez. "He would ride some on his father's horses from time to time, and it seemed that since my birth that I cannot remember a day when my father himself didn't have horses in our backyard. To be a jockey is all that I ever wanted to do. I can't remember ever wanting to do anything beside ride racehorses for a living.

Like most other horse racing-minded offspring from racing families during their adolescence, Ramirez would try to live, eat, and breath horse racing. Growing up in west Texas, the Ramirez family would make the pilgrimage to Ruidoso in the summer, mostly to witness the All American Futurity.

"We did make several trips to see the All American in Ruidoso when I was a child and as a teenager," said Ramirez. "The earliest All American I can remember seeing was when Jay Conklin won aboard AB What A Runner. At Ruidoso I got a chance to see all of these riders I had always heard about, like G.R. Carter, Jacky Martin, and Jerry Nicodemus. Seeing them ride, and see them win would just inspire me to follow my dream of becoming a jockey even more."

Wood/Ramirez Jockey-Trainer Combination

The Blane and Trey Wood stable is a powerful one, counting several of the top breeders and owners in Quarter Horse racing as their clients. With racing being a ultra-competitive sport with millions of dollars up for grabs, the need and drive to win can be immense. With the strain of satisfying clients expectations, and the pressure that comes with having such valuable bloodlines needing to produce in order to reach their intended level of output, many racetrack relationships between trainers and jockeys become a casualty to such a known pressure.

"Blane and Trey are great to ride for," said Ramirez. "When things are going well, and when thing aren't going as well, we still are very much a team. Race riding is sometimes problematic, and mistakes happen in races quite often. Blane and Trey are good about never holding a grudge about it when they happen. They both know that mistakes are going to happen, and that it is just a part of the game. They will discuss it with me, if at all, and then move on. I can see them two to three races later, and it is as if it never happened. They both are very supportive, and we have had a lot of success together."

Choosing The Right Mount

When it comes time to draw the qualifiers name for post position and jockey assignments prior to the running of the $1.06 Million Rainbow Derby(G1), Ramirez and his agent, Ryne Valerio, have to make a decision between the two Wood trainees that qualified into the finals.

"It is always a tough decision when you qualify more than one into the finals of one of these big races," said Ramirez. "You can only ride one horse in the finals, and therefore you run the risk of upsetting the owner of the other horse(s) when you are not riding their horse back in the finals. Blane and Trey leave the decision up to me, but they do give me their opinion and opinion to me on how one is doing after the trial, etc. I feel you that you have to just access how the horse pulled up, and is coming back from their trial effort. Bodacious Eagle and Sam Crow both ran very good races in their trials, and they both seem to be coming back very well. My agent Ryne is a really good handicapper, and he I will discuss it right up until the time we have to make a decision. You just trying to evaluate your best chance to win, and hope that your decision was the right one."