QHA Racing Champion 2-Year-Old and Champion 2-Year-Old Gelding Political Twist will start in the fifth Derby trial Saturday.

© Coady Media

By Louanne Wainscott, StallioneSearch

ALBUQUERQUE, NM–AUGUST 8, 2026–The road to Quarter Horse racing’s biggest stage continues Sunday afternoon, with 3-year-olds taking center stage in a loaded 13-race program featuring trials for the Grade 1 All American Oaks and Grade 1 All American Derby.

The first five races on the card will feature 43 sophomore fillies competing at 440 yards in the All-American Oaks Trials. The action will then shift to the colts and geldings, with 72 sophomores entered in eight All American Derby trial heats, races six through 13.

The Derby hopefuls will race against the clock for one of the ten fastest qualifying times and a return trip to the Grade 1 All American Derby on September 6, which is expected to carry a $1 million purse. Those who do not qualify for the Derby final will remain eligible for the $100,000 All American Invitational Stakes.

One of the afternoon’s most anticipated matchups comes in the tenth race, the fifth Derby trial, where reigning AQHA Racing Champion 2-Year-Old and Champion 2-Year-Old Gelding Political Twist will once again face the horse who denied him All American Futurity glory last season, King of the Tide.

Political Twist enters as the 7-5 morning-line favorite, carrying his championship form into his sophomore campaign. He is unbeaten in two starts this season, including a win in the Grade 1 Rainbow Derby. Overall, he has won eight of ten starts, with one second-place finish and earnings of $1,462,086 for La Feliz Montana Ranch, LLC, which purchased him for $150,000 at the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale.

The son of Apollitical Jess is out of the Tres Seis mare C Twister Seis and was bred in New Mexico by MJ Farms. Trainer Manuel Rodolfo Rodriguez will send him from post three, with regular rider Luis Martinez aboard.

Standing directly beside him at post four will be a familiar rival.

King of the Tide enters at 7-2 after producing one of the defining moments of the 2025 season by upsetting Political Twist by a neck in the Grade 1 All American Futurity. The gelding has made only one start this season, finishing third in his Rainbow Derby trial after a slow start.

Through seven career starts, King of the Tide has recorded four victories, one second, and two thirds, earning $1,596,087 for E. Gene Bradley, Tod Bradley, and Ware Brown, who purchased him for $130,000 at the Ruidoso New Mexico-Bred Sale.

The son of Eye Am King is out of the Ocean Runaway mare Ms Riptide and, like Political Twist, was bred in New Mexico by MJ Farms. Trainer S. Trey Wood will saddle him from post four, with regular rider Ricky Ramirez aboard, as the two rivals renew their battle with another All-American dream on the line.

The Derby trials will also feature a talented filly willing to take on the boys.

Gf Shes Sinful enters the eleventh race and sixth trial as the 9-5 morning-line favorite. Her connections opted for the larger Derby purse after she already proved capable of defeating the colts and geldings with a victory in the Grade 1 Ruidoso Derby earlier this season.

She followed that performance by moving to the filly division for the Grade 1 Rainbow Oaks, where she finished second by three-quarters of a length. Gf Shes Sinful has won five of eight career starts and has finished off the board only once, earning $457,653 for All In Partners, which purchased her for $50,000 at the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale.

The Oklahoma-bred daughter of Dulce Sin Tacha is out of the Foose mare Bf Fooserageous and was bred by Kevin A. Birrell. Trainer Wesley T. Giles will send her from the inside post, with jockey Noe Garcia, Jr., aboard, as she attempts to add another major victory over the boys to her résumé.

Before the Derby hopefuls take over the program, the fillies will open Sunday’s All-American action with five Oaks trials. First post is set for noon, with 43 fillies vying for one of the ten fastest qualifying times for the Grade 1 All American Oaks, which is expected to offer a $500,000 purse.

Apollirevenge headlines the third race as the 9-5 morning-line favorite. She made headlines last season when she dead-heated with Effortless Favorite for the Grade 1 Heritage Place Futurity victory.

Her sophomore debut proved she remains among the division’s leading contenders. Apollirevenge finished second in the Grade 2 Easy Date Stakes after being involved in a four-way battle to the wire. Through five career starts, she has four victories and one second while earning $381,213.

The daughter of A Revenant is out of the Apollitical Jess mare Apollititaka and was bred in California by Rancho El Cabresto Inc. She races for Weetona Stanley and will be saddled by trainer Jed Vane from post three, with jockey Jesus R. Ayala aboard.

Another filly bringing strong recent form into the Oaks trials is Wera C, a supplemental entry and the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the second race and second trial.

Wera C arrives after a victory in the Speedhorse Derby and previously finished second in the Grade 2 Heritage Place Oaks, giving the Texas-bred filly plenty of momentum heading into Sunday’s 440-yard test.

Ruse Ranch, LLC races the daughter of Flying Cowboy 123, who they purchased for $73,000 at the TQHA Yearling Sale. She is out of the One Dashing Eagle mare Pillow Talk and was bred in Texas by Ellis H. Hank Bird.

Trainer Marco Adair Chavez-Gutierrez will saddle Wera C from post two, with jockey Jonathan Dominguez aboard, as she attempts to turn her supplemental entry into a spot in the All-American Oaks final.

With 115 sophomores entered between the Oaks and Derby trials, Sunday afternoon will mark another major chapter in the chase for All-American glory. Champions, Grade 1 winners, familiar rivals, and rising contenders will all face the same challenge at 440 yards.

For some, Sunday will be another step toward adding an All-American title to an already impressive résumé. For others, it will be the afternoon when a new contender emerges.

The races at Albuquerque Downs can be watched on Q-Racing Video.

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