Im A Pretty Mess Heads Cox Ranch Lone Star Distaff Challenge Field Saturday

Im A Pretty Mess, a stakes-placed daughter of multiple stakes sire Tarzanito, has been installed as the 8-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday night's $20,000 Cox Ranch Distaff Challenge Stakes (G3) at Lone Star Park.

The 400-yard event for Challenge enrolled fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and older, is carded as Race 11 with an approximate post time of 10:25 p.m. CT. Eight fillies and mares are entered.

Also at stake is a berth to the $125,000-est. Grade 1 Cox Ranch Challenge Championship to be run during the AQHA Challenge Championship Night at Downs at Albuquerque on October 15.

Im A Pretty Mess, breaking from post 3 under JR Ramirez Jr., brings one of the strongest recent efforts into the race. The 3-year-old Louisiana-bred filly finished second to Shakers No Secret in the $59,000 Retama Championship Challenge (G3) at 440 yards on August 21 after leading into the final stages.

She was beaten only a half-length and earned a 102 Speed Index. One start earlier, she finished third against older horses in a 400-yard allowance at Retama Park.

Im A Pretty Mess has won two of six career starts with a second and a third and earnings of $35,504. Both victories came during her 2-year-old campaign, including a 400-yard futurity at Evangeline Downs. She is one-for-two at Saturday's 400-yard distance.

SLC Racing LLC owns the 8-5 favorite, who is trained by Shae Cox and will be ridden by Ramirez. Bred by Joshua R. Henderson, Im A Pretty Mess is from Eagle Diva, by One Famous Eagle. She was a $24,000 LQHBA Yearling Sale graduate.

Paint This Rose, the 2-1 second choice from post 8, brings considerably more experience into the Distaff. The 5-year-old mare has compiled a 2-8-1 record from 21 starts and earned $72,098. She has finished first or second in 10 of those starts.

Paint This Rose was second in consecutive Remington Park allowances earlier this year, including a nose loss to Mystery V on April 9. She crossed the wire first in another Remington allowance May 16 but was declared a non-starter and disqualified. In her two subsequent stakes appearances at Fair Meadows, she finished fourth in the Golden Driller Stakes and sixth in the Belles Stakes.

The mare also has previous experience in this race, finishing fourth, beaten one length, in last year's Lone Star Distaff Challenge after encountering trouble at the start.

Aaron Newsom owns Paint This Rose, who is trained by Kevin Willis and will be ridden by Mario Delgado. Bob and/or Jerry Gaston bred the Texas-bred daughter of Pyc Paint Your Wagon from First Tea Rose, by First Down Dash. She sold for $37,000 at the Heritage Place sale.

Lettibefirst, at 5-1, completes the top three choices on the morning line. The 4-year-old mare has won twice from 17 career starts with two seconds and two thirds while earning $43,668. She has made five starts this season, winning once and finishing second once for earnings of $19,761.

Her biggest performance this season came June 13 at Arapahoe Park, where she rallied to win the $19,000 Pen Pal Stakes at 350 yards by a half-length while earning an 102 Speed Index. In her most recent start, she encountered trouble leaving the gate and finished sixth in the $31,000 Arapahoe Park Distaff Challenge at Saturday's 400-yard distance.

Owned and trained by Zachary Quezada, Lettibefirst will be ridden by Raul Ramirez Jr. Armando Jaquez bred the New Mexico-bred daughter of Walcott from Dashing Lili, by First Down Dash. No sale information is listed in the program.

The remainder of the field includes Mitoles Princess at 10-1, One Magic Eagle at 12-1, Dynastys Girl at 20-1, Pairadice City at 8-1 and Bm Candi Royale at 12-1. The program's mutuel ratings also list Im A Pretty Mess, Paint This Rose, Lettibefirst and Pairadice City in that order.

The Cox Ranch Distaff Challenge is part of Saturday night's Quarter Horse stakes program at Lone Star Park.

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