Abelardo H. “Chacho” Flores, a longtime Quarter Horse owner and breeder whose years in racing were marked by enduring partnerships and generations of successful horses, passed away on Saturday, September 26, at age 69. He was born July 31, 1957.
Known throughout racing as Abel Flores, he campaigned horses across the country, both individually and through several partnerships. His story in the sport extended beyond the names on an ownership line. It was built over years spent breeding and racing horses alongside people who shared his commitment, including longtime partner James Sills and trainer Eddie Willis.
“We’ve had a lot of horses together,” Willis said of his years training for Sills and Flores.
Those few words encompass decades of shared work and memories. For Flores, Sills and Willis, some of their greatest successes came from one mare and the generations that followed her—a connection that tied their past accomplishments to their more recent victories.
Willis purchased Shake N Quack for the partners for $25,000 after horseman Butch Wise brought the mare to his attention. Looking back, Willis recalled the confidence Flores and Sills placed in his judgment.
“He (Butch Wise) called me and told me he had mare in foal to Corona Cartel,” Willis said. “She was available for $25,000. I bought her right there for James and Abel. The two owners never even questioned me about the purchase.”
That purchase became a lasting part of their racing story. Shake N Quack produced Shaken Easy Dash and Shake Cartel, two daughters whose families would bring Flores and his partners back to the winner’s circle for years to come.
Shake Cartel produced A Toss Up, an earner of more than $500,000 who won the 2014 Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Invitational Championship (G1). Shaken Easy Dash, a multiple graded stakes placed earner of $186,960, became the granddam of both Cedar Hill and Shaken Goin On.
A decade after A Toss Up’s Grade 1 victory, Cedar Hill won the 2024 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity (G2). Their homebred Shaken Goin On followed with a victory in the 2025 Los Alamitos Oaks (G1). Each carried another branch of the same family forward, reflecting the years Flores and Sills had invested in their horses.
Flores’s accomplishments also reached beyond that partnership. He bred and raced Cajun King, the Oklahoma-bred son of The Louisiana Cartel out of Easydoesitcindy, by Scrutinizer. The gelding won the Oklahoma Horsemen’s Association Mystery Futurity (RG3) and earned $147,098.
He also bred Possum Fust, a son of Sweet First Down out of High Fashion Lass, by Merganser, whom he raced with Link Newcomb and Micah Leslie. Trained by Willis, the Oklahoma-bred gelding won five of 14 starts, with four seconds and one third, earning $299,308.
Together, these horses tell the story of Flores’s involvement in Quarter Horse racing: a breeder who watched his horses develop, an owner who shared success through partnerships, and a horseman whose name remained connected to a family of runners across generations. His passing leaves those who raced alongside him with memories that reach well beyond any single stakes victory.
Public visitation will be held Sunday, October 4, from 5–10 p.m. at Trevino Funeral Home, 226 Cupples Road, San Antonio, Texas 78237. Family arrival is scheduled for 4 p.m., and the Rosary will begin at 7 p.m.
On Monday, October 5, arrival at the funeral home is scheduled for 8:30 a.m., with pallbearers arriving at 9 a.m. The procession will depart for the church at 9:20 a.m.
Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, 5919 Ingram Road, San Antonio, Texas 78228. Interment will follow at San Fernando Cemetery II, 746 Castroville Road, San Antonio, Texas 78237.
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