LOS ALAMITOS, CA—MAY 22, 2011—Another race resulted in another record performance for the brilliant filly Separate Fire on Sunday at Los Alamitos Race Course, as the daughter of Walk Thru Fire ran the fastest 300 yards in the history of the Grade 1 Kindergarten Futurity with a time of :15.148.

Ridden by Ramon Sanchez for trainer Paul Jones, Separate Fire posted a half-length victory over Danielle Hall and Jim Hanson’s Fixin To Fly while beating the stakes record of :15.18 set by champion 2-year-old colt Hawkish in 2003.

This Boogie Fires finished third to give the stallion Walk Thru Fire a 1-2-3 finish in the Kindergarten.

Meanwhile, Separate Fire’s new stakes mark in the Kindergarten is just latest of what has become an incredible collection of Los Alamitos records for the Dr. Steve Burns-bred filly.

The sorrel first made headlines after her gate drill of :11.80 on March 29 equaled the fastest by a 2-year-old prior to a debut race. In the trials to the Kindergarten Futurity, Separate Fire took a step further and faster, as she covered the distance in a sizzling :15.08, the fastest ever by a 2-year-old racing 300 yards at Los Alamitos. And now this, a Kindergarten stakes record.

“She’s awesome,” Jones said. “I can’t think of another word to describe this filly. Her time tonight is unbelievable because the track was not as fast as it was on the night of the trials and she still posted an impressive time. She’s the real deal and she’s proven it. It’s nice to have a horse like her.”

Jockey Ramon Sanchez, a two-time AQHA champion rider, has piloted some of the fastest horses in the nation in recent years and even he rated Separate Fire as one of the best he’s been ridden.

“After Foose (the 2008 champion 2-year-old colt) she’s one of the best 2-year-olds that I’ve ever ridden,” Sanchez said. “She heard noises when we were in the starting gate and then right when that happened, the gate opened and she didn’t break as well as she could have. She still broke as good as any of her other rivals and was too good from there.”

“I hate to compare her with other horses that I’ve trained so early in her career, but she’s pretty good,” Jones said. “I’ll tell you one thing; I’d love to have a baby out of her sired by Foose.”

Jose Trevino of Tremor Enterprises was joined in the winner’s circle by his wife, Zulema, and their daughter, Alexandra, to celebrate Separate Fire’s victory. Their celebration party could have been bigger, but other priorities took over the family’s plan to attend the Kindergarten final.

“Our three younger children have school tomorrow morning so they couldn’t be here,” Jose Trevino said. “They stayed back in Texas, but I can assure you that they are glued to the TV watching this race.”

While Jose, 18, Rebecca, 12, and Oscar, 8, were not able to join their parents for the running of the Kindergarten, they will be able to tell all their schoolmates on Monday that they own probably the fastest 2-year-old runner in the country.

Trevino bought Separate Fire last year for $45,000 at the Heritage Place Sale. He liked her because she was a daughter of the red-hot stallion Walk Thru Fire and because he trusted the breeding expertise of Dr. Burns.

“I have a lot of respect for Dr. Burns as a breeder and I know that he knows a lot about crosses that work in Quarter Horse racing,” Trevino added. “I liked her on the catalog page and I liked her at the sale. We had a budget, a limit to spend, but you never know how much a horse will go for until you are at the sale. I was happy to buy her for $45,000. Would I have gone higher? I don’t know if I would have gone $50,000 to be honest. It’s easy now to see her worth, but it’s difficult when you are bidding at a horse sale. I’m just happy that she ended up going home with us.”

Separate Fire earned $142,632 for her Kindergarten victory and she also improved her record to perfect three for three.

“We knew we had a good chance with her, but I always tell my family that you can’t expect to win every time,” Trevino added. “I try to be optimistic, but I always stay realistic about how tough it is to win a race. To make it to the winner’s circle is a wonderful moment and one that we’ll cherish for a long time, but now it’s back to real life.”

Tremor Enterprises has been fortunate in their success with high caliber 2-year-olds in recent years. The racing operation campaigned Tempting Dash during his 2-year-old champion year in 2009 and also Mr Piloto during his All American Futurity winning season in 2010. The success of those two colts has allowed Trevino the joy of now dedicating himself purely to the breeding of horses.

“I grew up milking cows and taking care of horses,” he said. “We’ve been around the ranch all of our lives.”

Trevino added that “With Tempting Dash and Mr Piloto we didn’t race them after their 2-year-old season. We had planned to race Tempting Dash at Los Alamitos in his sophomore year, but he got sick and we couldn’t bring him to California. Separate Fire has paid for herself with this win and she’s eligible to all the major futurities here – the Ed Burke, Golden State and Los Alamitos Two Million futurities. What’s great about a filly is that you can do embryos and then bring her back to the track. That’s a nice advantage for a filly. We certainly don’t want to risk her too much, but those big futurity trials are there for her.

“We’re fortunate to have Paul Jones’ great team working with Separate Fire,” the owner said. “There’ll now be bigger expectations and more attention paid to her, but we hope that she continues to do well. We’re thrilled with what she’s already done.”

Ridden by Jay Conklin and trained by Jim Hanson, Fixin To Fly earned $57,732 while third place finisher This Boogie Fires earned $40,752 for owner Mike Abraham.

Fixing To Fly had a troubled start, but he still rallied to go from sixth place to second. This Boogie Fires was eighth at the start before making a huge move to finish third for trainer Jaime Gomez and jockey Alejandro Luna.

Kindly Fellow, Red Dasher, Rlr Tres Premios, Sompin About First, Ima Chickie Two and Features Gift completed the field.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com