Kj Bad Moon Rising, the 3-1 morning-line favorite, returns to Sunray Park for his four-year-old debut in Sunday’s $75,000 La Plata Stakes, bringing a $1.3 million résumé and graded stakes-winning form into the 400-yard feature.

© Coady Media

By Stallionesearch / Louanne Wainscott
 

FARMINGTON, NM–April 18, 2026—On Sunday afternoon at Sunray Park, a ten-race card is set to unfold, highlighted by the $75,000 La Plata Stakes. The eighth race on the program, designated for three-year-olds and older and contested at 400 yards, will feature a full field of ten, with post time scheduled for approximately 4:35 PM.

Kj Bad Moon Rising enters as the 3-1 morning line favorite, looking to launch his four-year-old campaign on a strong note. The accomplished gelding returns off an impressive three-year-old season that included a victory in the G2 New Mexico State Fair Derby and a qualification to the G2 New Mexico Classic Derby. With seven wins and four runner-up finishes from fifteen career starts, he has amassed earnings of $1,332,300, establishing himself as one of the premier runners in the region.

Owned and bred in New Mexico by John and Kathy Lees, Kj Bad Moon Rising is sired by Kj Mucho Macho Man and out of the First Moonflash mare Kj Kiss Me Goodbye. He will break from post eight under jockey Noe Garcia, Jr., with trainer Wesley T. Giles overseeing his return to stakes company.

Apollitical Boogie J is listed at 4-1 on the morning line and will make his first start of the year. The five-year-old gelding closed out his previous campaign in winning fashion, capturing the G2 James Isaac Hobbs Stakes. He owns four career victories and five second-place finishes while earning $136,211 for owners Paul Blanchard, Javier M. Chavez, and Heysol Howlet.

Sired by Apollitical Jess and out of the Walk Thru Fire mare This Boogie Fires, Apollitical Boogie J was bred in California by Jamie H. Gomez. Trainer Jose Ignacio DeHerrera sends him out from post six with Jorge Nieto-Saenz named to ride, aiming to make an immediate impact in his seasonal debut.

With a field stacked with seasoned, multi-graded stakes performers, the $75,000 La Plata Stakes shapes up as one of the most competitive races on the card, where a strong break and late drive could result in a tightly contested finish down the Sunray Park stretch.

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

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