Multiple stakes winner Cayenneoverthemoon has been set as the 3-1 morning-line favorite in Saturday's $17,000 Governor’s Handicap at Sweetwater Downs.

© Jack Coady Photography

By H. David Smith, StallioneSearch

ROCK SPRINGS, WY–AUGUST 20, 2025—Sweetwater Downs will host the $17,000 Governor’s Handicap on Saturday, August 30, featuring a strong field of three-year-olds and older competing at 400 yards.

The fourth race on the card carries a purse of $17,000 and is scheduled for an approximate post time of 2:15 p.m. (MDT). Several proven stakes performers are expected to battle for the winner’s share.

Morning-line favorite Cayenneoverthemoon (3-1) enters the race off a consistent 2025 campaign for owner Walter I. Larson and trainer Jess R. Matt. The six-year-old chestnut mare by Brindis Por Cayenne, out of Dashmetothemoon by Apollo (TB), was bred in Wyoming by S Bar S and has compiled an impressive record of 16 wins, four seconds, and five thirds from 37 starts, with lifetime earnings of $167,425.

In her most recent outing on August 17 at Sweetwater Downs, she finished a closing fourth in a $17,000 stakes event after a strong outside rally. Earlier this summer, she captured the Wyoming-Bred Classic Stakes at Energy Downs on June 20, dueling early and prevailing by a neck in 19.836 for 400 yards.

Regular rider Cordarelton J. Benn will again be aboard as she seeks her third stakes victory of the year.

Ud Cholula (7-1) comes into the Governor’s Handicap in peak form after a wire-to-wire victory in the $17,000 Isawssugarbear Fillies & Mares Stakes on August 17. Owned and bred by Uriel Dominguez Lucero and trained by the owner, the four-year-old bay mare by Ec Jet One out of Bvlgari B by Tac It Like A Man showed dazzling early speed in her last start, stopping the clock in 17.173 for 350 yards under jockey Cristian Reyes, who retains the mount.

Ud Cholula has now won five of 20 starts and banked nearly $50,000, and she has proven especially dangerous when she breaks cleanly.

Jets Eyes (4-1) will look to build on a sharp runner-up finish in the Ron Moosman Memorial Stakes on July 20 at Wyoming Downs, where he dueled gamely before finishing just behind Yo Morning Delite.

Trained and co-owned by Kylie Aguirre Valenzuela, the four-year-old sorrel gelding by Ec Jet One out of Hawkinson Eyes by Hawkinson has three wins and four seconds from nine career starts, with earnings of more than $65,000.

Bred in Wyoming by Maria Valenzuela, Jets Eyes also finished second in last year’s Wyoming-Bred Derby at Sweetwater, showcasing his ability to compete against top regional competition. Jesus Valenzuela will be in the saddle once again.

With Cayenneoverthemoon’s class, Ud Cholula’s sharp recent form, and Jets Eyes’ consistency, the Governor’s Handicap shapes up as one of the most competitive stakes sprints of the Sweetwater Downs meet.

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