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Top Indiana Quarter Horses Recognized
The QHRAI honored WRS Valentino as their Horse of the Year.

© Linscott Photography
Top Indiana Quarter Horses Recognized

INDIANAPOLIS, IN—JANUARY 26, 2019—Amidst a dreary snowstorm, the Indiana Quarter Horse Breed Development Program (IQHBDP) and the Quarter Horse Racing Association of Indiana (QHRAI) celebrated what was a bright year of Quarter Horse racing in Indiana in 2018 with year-end awards banquet.

Before to the banquet, the QHRAI’s annual stallion service auction brought in $70,500. Kiss My Hocks was the high-selling stallion, garnering $5,400 for a 2019 breeding. Indiana stallion Habits Secret sold for $625 over minimum and Escondido Beach sold for $500 over his minimum.

Since the conclusion of the auction, nine more stallions have sold, bringing the total to $83,975. The remaining stallions are listed on QHRAI’s website, or you can contact Teresa Myers at mtjmyers@yahoo.com.

“Even with the inclement weather, we had a great turn out for the Stallion Service Auction and the awards banquet. We are grateful for Janet VanBebber attending our event, it was a pleasure having her,” says Dianne Bennett, Executive Director for QHRAI.

The biggest awards of the night were the Horses of the Year. The QHRAI honored WRS Valentino as their Horse of the Year. WRS Valentino is owned and bred by Williams Racing Stables LLC and trained by Randy Smith.

The 2-year-old gelding by Mighty B Valiant had five starts, winning three and placing second in two. His two biggest wins from the 2018 season at Indiana Grand Racing and Casino was the $100,000 Governors Stake and the $100,000 QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Futurity. His total earnings were $152,000 racing in Indiana alone.

The breed development program’s Horse of the Year was Rockys Candy Shop, owned by Lance Finlinson and bred by Stanley Forbes. Smith, who also took home Trainer of the Year accolades, also trained the 3-year-old gelding.

By Fantastic Corona Jr., Rockys Candy Shop had seven starts with five wins and one second place finish, earning $118,713 in 2018 Indiana races alone. The gelding’s biggest win of the year was the $100,000 Blue River Derby, and his finished the year tied for the AQHA Central Region High Point Colt/Gelding, with a couple of mentions in the national rankings throughout the year.

“This past year was a blessed year for us, and we hope to have continued success in 2019 and beyond,” said Finlinson.

“We are pleased with another successful Quarter Horse racing season, in which 19 stakes races were held,” says Bennett. “We’re already looking to make 2019 and 2020 even better.”

The QHRAI winners were:

  • High Point Two-Year-Old Filly – Coronados Quicksilver, bred/owned by Gordon Timm
  • High Point Two-Year-Old Colt/Gelding – Abe, bred/owned/trained by Randy Thompson
  • High Point Three-Year-Old Filly – Beach Mercedes, bred/owned by Sheri Miller
  • High Point Three-Year-Old Colt/Gelding (tie) – Rockys Candy Shop, bred by Stanley Forbes, owned by Lance Finlinson, and Kitty Sixup, bred by Gary Hess, owned by Erin Thompson & Deane Lehman
  • High Point Aged Mare – Keala Kennelly, bred by J. Garvan Kelly & Nancy Yearsley, owned by Roberto Vargas
  • High Point Aged Colt/Gelding – American Purr, bred by Dianne Bennett, owned by Bennett Racing Stables LLC
  • QHRAI Champion Two-Year-Old – WRS Valentino, bred/owned by Williams Racing Stables LLC
  • QHRAI Champion Three-Year-Old – Rockys Candy Shop
  • QHRAI Champion Aged Mare – Keala Kennelly
  • QHRAI Champion Aged Horse – WH Design by Dash, bred by Greg Morrison, owned by Julia Martin
  • QHRAI Horse of the Year – WRS Valentino
  • QHRAI Broodmare of the Year – Jess Alive Bully, owner Flying Z Ranch
  • QHRAI Sire of the Year – Escondido Beach

The IQHBDP award winners were:

  • IQHBDP Champion Two-Year-Old Colt/Gelding – Abe
  • IQHBDP Champion Two-Year-Old Filly – Coronados Quicksilver
  • IQHBDP Champion Three-Year-Old Colt/Gelding – Rockys Candy Shop
  • IQHBDP Champion Three-Year-Old Filly – Beach Mercedes
  • IQHBDP Champion Aged Colt/Gelding – American Purr
  • IQHBDP Champion Aged Mare – Sheza Classy Bay, bred by Mark Michel, owned by Patrick Easter
  • IQHBDP Horse of the Year – Rockys Candy Shop
  • IQHBDP Broodmare of the Year – Jess Alive Bully
  • IQHBDP Sire of the Year – Escondido Beach
  • IQHBDP Breeder & Owner of the Year – Sheri Miller
  • IQHBDP Jockey of the Year – Jose Beltran
  • IQHBDP Trainer of the Year – Randy Smith

“It seems like each year there’s more and more excitement with our Quarter Horse program,” says Jessica Barnes, Director of Racing and Breed Development for the IHRC. “And we know it’s just going to keep getting better.”

Domiyun Cartel, a now 3-year-old colt owned and bred by Brian Gunder, was named as a contender for the 2018 AQHA Racing Two-Year-Old Colt of the Year. In his freshman season, the son of Dominyun (out of Dreamers Cartel, by Corona Cartel) earned $117,805 under the tutelage of trainer Erin Thompson. It’s the second year in a row Indiana has had a contender in the 2-Year-Old category, following Keen Liaison’s nomination in 2017.