Fine I Am (#1) holds off Maka Rooon (#6) and Miss Baby Cartel (#5) towin the $50,000 Vista Distaff for state-bred fillies and mares Saturday at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack & Casino.

© Coady Media

By H. David Smith, StallioneSearch

RUIDOSO DOWNS, NM–JUNE 21, 2025–In a thrilling finish to the $50,000 Vista Distaff Stakes at Ruidoso Downs, Fine Am Eye held off a furious charge from Maka Roon and Miss Baby Cartel to win by a head in a time of 17.854 seconds over a fast track, posting a speed index of 83 despite running into an 11 mph headwind.

The 5-year-old sorrel mare by Eye Am King out of Starsmith by Tres Seis was bred in New Mexico by MJ Farms and is owned by Backdoor Thoroughbreds LLC.

She was ridden to victory by Noe Garcia, Jr. and trained by James Gonzales III. Fine Am Eye was a $27,000 purchase at the 2021 Ruidoso New Mexico-Bred Yearling Sale. She broke sharply from the inside post and fended off all challengers to earn the winner’s share of $30,000. Boosting her overall bankroll to $255,821.

The $50,00 Vista Distaff Stakes on Saturday ended in a close finish at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack & Casino.
© Coady Media

Maka Roon, also a 5-year-old mare by Eye Am King and out of C Roon by Brookstone Bay, finished a neck behind the winner. Bred by Dirk Jones, she races for Christian Dominguez-Olivas, is trained by Julian Honesto, and was ridden by Jacob Enriquez. Purchased for $10,000 at the 2023 Heritage Place Winter Mixed Sale, Maka Roon the graded stakes-placed mare earned $10,000 for her runner-up finish. She has banked $178,974 from five wins in 22 starts.

Third-place honors and $5,000 went to Miss Baby Cartel, a 4-year-old gray filly by Big Daddy Cartel out of Double Moon Baby by First Moonflash. Bred by Elsa Sotelo, she is owned by Felix Rodriguez and Sergio Holguin, trained by Marco Flores, and ridden by Sergio Becerra, Jr. Miss Baby Cartel closed strongly from mid-pack to finish three-quarters of a length behind the top pair. She is a multiple graded stakes-placed earner of nearly $160,000.

The final margins were head, neck, and three-quarters of a length between the top three finishers.

At the betting windows, Fine Am Eye returned $8.00 to win, $4.60 to place, and $3.80 to show. Maka Roon paid $13.20 to place and $5.40 to show, while Miss Baby Cartel returned $6.80 to show. The $1 exacta combination of 1-6 paid $53.30, the $1 trifecta of 1-6-5 returned $472.60, and the $0.10 superfecta with 1-6-5-9 delivered a return of $354.69.

Also-rans in the Vista Distaff Stakes were Copy of Jess (4th), Queen of the Jingle (5th), Paint Me Queen (6th), Ez On My Mind (7th), Over Da Edge (8th), Jess Emotions (9th), and Daddys Doll (10th).

The final race at Ruidoso Downs Saturday was contested under warm, cloudy skies with an official post time of 4:56 p.m. (MDT), and the racetrack featured a total handle exceeding $562,000.

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