Why So Political drew clear late to win the $59,400 Northlands Futurity at Canterbury Park on Thursday evening, giving trainer Jason Olmstead a sweep of the top three placings.

Ridden by Gonzalo Valles Jr., Why So Political broke inwardly from post six before moving into contention. The filly took over late and drew clear by one length, completing the 350 yards in :17.823 for a 94 speed index.

Why So Political is a homebred for Cavenaugh Quarter Horses LLC and was a $42,000 repurchase at the Heritage Place Yearling Sale. She is sired by world champion Apollitical Jess and out of the stakes-winning First Down Dash mare Why.

Her female family includes Dam of Distinction and Broodmare of the Year Runaway Wave ($79,183), world champion Wave Carver ($1,005,946), three-time champion Ocean Runaway ($1,642,498) and two-time champion Uncle D ($689,165).

Why So Political has now won three consecutive starts and improved her record to 7-3-0-1 with earnings of $41,139. Earlier this season, she was a finalist in the Prairie Meadows Gold Juvenile Stakes.

Sheza A Sugar Momma rallied to finish second under jockey Ryder Olmstead. The filly remained within striking distance before making her late run to secure the runner-up spot, finishing one length behind the winner in :17.987 for a 90 speed index.

Owned by Tom Maher and Paul Luedemann and trained by Jason Olmstead, Sheza A Sugar Momma was bred by Summer Run Inc. She is sired by Hes Relentless and out of the Pyc Paint Your Wagon mare Candy Coated Paint.

Sheza A Sugar Momma has put together an impressive start to her career, highlighted by victories in the North Star State Futurity and MQHRA Stallion Auction Futurity. She now has a record of 5-2-2-1 with earnings of $52,318.

Ourrelentlessdynasty crossed the wire in third under Armando Alvidrez. The filly dueled along the inside and briefly held the lead before being outfinished, crossing the wire a nose behind Sheza A Sugar Momma in :17.999 for an 89 speed index.

Ourrelentlessdynasty is owned by Tom Maher and Amber Olmstead and trained by Jason Olmstead. Bred by Tom Maher, she is sired by Hes Relentless and out of the Fdd Dynasty mare Ms Dynasty.

She now holds a record of 6-1-1-1 with earnings of $26,802. Earlier this season, Ourrelentlessdynasty finished second in the MQHRA Stallion Auction Futurity.

Livin D Dream finished fourth, followed by Daylynn, Wisp, Shes So Relentless, Incendiari and Golden Wonton. Runs Like The Wind was scratched.

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Grade 2 winner Hes Chickless SI 104, a stakes-winning son of leading sire Hes Relentless, has relocated to Woods Farm in Bear River, Wyoming, for the 2027 breeding season. The Burns Ranch-owned stallion will stand for a fee of $1,500.

The 2020 sorrel stallion entered stud in 2025, and his first foals will be yearlings in 2027. Hes Chickless will be Wyoming Accredited.

A winner of 11 races from 29 career starts, Hes Chickless earned $261,225 while competing primarily at Los Alamitos. He won three stakes and placed in four others during a career that earned him honors as the California Hi-Point Three-Year-Old Colt and California Hi-Point Aged Stallion.

Hes Chickless recorded his biggest win in the Grade 2 El Primero Del Ano Derby. He also won the Ah Sigh Handicap and A Ransom Handicap and finished second in the Grade 3 Kaweah Bar Handicap and Fred Scane Handicap. He was third in the Dillingham Handicap and Independence Day Handicap.

The multiple stakes winner also proved competitive at the Grade 1 level, qualifying to the finals of the Los Alamitos Super Derby(G1), Los Alamitos Winter Derby(G1) and Brad McKinzie Winter Championship S.(G1). His additional graded finals appearances included the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity(G2) and Golden State Derby(G2).

Hes Chickless is by AQHA Racing Champion Hes Relentless SI 107, winner of $616,380 and the Hobbs America Derby(G3). Hes Relentless has established himself among the industry's leading sires, with progeny earnings exceeding $21.7 million from eight crops of racing age.

His runners include four champions and 59 stakes winners, led by two-time champion Hes Judgeandjury SI 98, winner of more than $2 million and the All American Futurity(G1); two-time champion Dark Nme SI 110, winner of more than $1.7 million and the Texas Classic Futurity(G1); champion Unrelentless SI 102; and champion Relentless Eagle SI 97.

Hes Chickless is out of the stakes-placed Tac It Like A Man mare Chickitita SI 88, a two-time winner who earned $29,691 who finished second in the La Pacifica Handicap and third in the Markel Stakes and Huntington Beach Overnight Handicap.

Chickitita has produced six winners and eight ROM from 11 starters. In addition to Hes Chickless, she is the dam of stakes winner Hard Headed Chick SI 98, a five-time winner of $101,871 who won the California Breeders' Debutante Stakes and finished second in the La Primera Del Ano Derby(G3), and multiple stakes winner Chickititas Favorite SI 93, winner of $60,395 and the Golden State Juvenile Stakes and Los Alamitos Juvenile Invitational Stakes.

The family traces through second dam The Devine Miss Em SI 90, a winning daughter of leading sire Corona Cartel.

Hes Chickless will stand the 2027 season at Woods Farm, 260 Home Stretch, Bear River, Wyoming 82930. For additional information or breeding inquiries, contact Trent Woods at Woods Farm at (307) 696-9264 or trentonwoods29@yahoo.com.

Retama Park will kick off the final weekend of stakes action Friday evening with an 11-race card, highlighted by the Grade 3 $58,718 AQHA Racing Championship Challenge Stakes.

A field of eight 3-year-olds and older will line up for the featured event in the tenth race, scheduled for approximately 10:51 p.m. The accomplished field will travel 440 yards, with more than the stakes purse on the line. The winner will earn a berth to compete on AQHA Racing Championship Day at Albuquerque Downs on October 17.

Shakers No Secret leads the field as the 2-1 morning-line favorite. The six-year-old gelding enters off a victory in the Grade 3 King William Stakes, prevailing by three-quarters of a length. The veteran has 11 career victories and 10 runner-up finishes, earning $864,925 for owners Abel Lopez, Ethan Lopez, and Manny Dutchover, who purchased him for $14,000 as a yearling at the Heritage Place Sale.

The son of Five Bar Cartel is out of the No Secrets Here mare Shaker Secret and was bred in Texas by Garlyn O. Shelton. Trainer Marc E. Jungers will send Shakers No Secret from the outside post eight with Raul Ramirez, Jr., aboard for the first time.

Stablemate Eagles Up enters as the second choice at 7-2 on the morning line. The four-year-old stallion has made only one start this season, running evenly against allowance company. He returns to stakes competition, seeking to recapture the form that carried him to victory in the $110,000 Sires Cup Derby in 2025.

Eagles Up has recorded five victories, three seconds, and three thirds in his career, earning $170,368.

The eight-horse field is completed by #1 Im a Pretty Mess, #2 Dr Pepper 123, #3 Klass Action, #4 Defours, #6 Sightseeing Beauty, and #7 Apollitical Jackie.

With an accomplished favorite, a stakes-winning stablemate, and a competitive field ready to challenge them, the Grade 3 AQHA Racing Championship Challenge Stakes will put the spotlight on Retama Park Friday night as the track begins its final weekend of stakes racing. The 440-yard showdown also offers an opportunity beyond Friday's purse, with a coveted berth to AQHA Racing Championship Day awaiting the winner.

The races at Retama Park can be watched on Q-Racing Video.

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Led by a group of top local stakes winners in Mayor Humdinger, SG Jacob Jay, SM My Valentine, and Slatedtoshine, a talented field of seven 3-year-olds lines up for Saturday night’s $30,000 Sgt Pepper Feature Handicap at 350 yards.

Mike Casselman’s homebred Mayor Humdinger, who returns following a thrilling runner-up effort in the Governor’s Cup Derby where he finished second by a nose to Brother Ray, tops the field as he looks for his second career stakes win. The Mpshinning gelding earned his biggest victory in the 2025 Governor’s Cup Futurity and has compiled a record of four wins from seven starts with a field-best $149,215 in career earnings. Known around the barn for his easygoing nature, the gelding always saves his energy for race night.

“This horse just has a super mind... In the mornings he’ll get up and do his job and then just lie down in his stall,” Casselman has said of Mayor Humdinger’s laid-back demeanor. “But when it’s time to run, he applies himself.”

Trainer Adan Farias sends out a formidable pair, starting with SG Jacob Jay, a Favorite Cartel colt owned by Shane Giles. A full brother to AQHA Champion Tarzanito, SG Jacob Jay won the James Smith Memorial Handicap earlier this season and qualified for the Winter Derby final after winning his trial. The colt is named in honor of lifelong horseman Jacob Jay Giles, who passed away in October 2023.

“My dad asked me to see this horse through,” owner Shane Giles shared after the colt's James Smith victory. “This horse is special. It’s amazing what this horse has done for us.”

Farias also saddles SM My Valentine, owned by Santos Montemayor and Omar Torres. The Kiss My Hocks gelding won the Grade 2 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity as a juvenile and kicked off his 3-year-old stakes campaign by finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Winter Derby—one spot ahead of SG Jacob Jay. SM My Valentine and SG Jacob Jay then met in the James Smith, with the Giles-owned runner taking the victory. Born on Valentine’s Day, SM My Valentine now faces his stablemate for the third time as he searches for his first stakes win of the season.

The Schvaneveldt Sisters and Mark Smith’s Slatedtoshine won the La Pacifica Handicap against fillies in May and most recently finished sixth in the Governor’s Cup Derby. She will be pursuing her fourth win of the season.

Angela Aquino has enjoyed a lot of success with her Paint Horses at this meeting and sends out a pair in Saturday's feature. Carla Akers and Randy Perkins’ Turnpike Jammer makes his local debut following a strong campaign in Texas and Oklahoma. The Paint Horse finished second in a pair of futurities last season and boasts $91,806 in career earnings. Chiseled N Chrome is a familiar local name with eight starts this year, highlighted by a third-place finish in the Vandy’s Flash Handicap.

Double Bar S Ranch’s Accuzation, who ran in the El Primero Del Ano Derby in the spring and most recently earned his maiden diploma for trainer Elena Andrade, completes the field.

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