Challenge


Jess A Rogue Wins Sparkling Tip Bonus Challenge By A Neck
Jess A Rogue (outside), under jockey Rodrigo Vallejo, catches Game Rita in Sunday's Sparkling Tip Bonus Challenge at Hialeah Park.

© Coady Photography
Jess A Rogue Wins Sparkling Tip Bonus Challenge By A Neck

HIALEAH, FL—FEBRUARY 22, 2015—The three-year-old filly Jess a Rogue, ridden by Rodrigo Vallejo and trained by Judd Kearl for Triple M Farms LLC, put in a strong finish to hit the wire first by a neck over Game Rita in Sunday’s $22,500 Sparkling Tip Bonus Challenge at Hialeah Park.

Jess a Rogue covered the 300 yards of the Sparkling Tip in 15.489 seconds while registering her second consecutive stakes score over this iconic South Florida racing strip. Three weeks ago on February 1, the daughter of Heza Fast Dash daughter out of Miss Jess Rogue, by Mr Jess Perry, annexed the Biscayne Stakes at 250 yards.

The winning connections of Jess A Rogue accepting the Sparking Tip Bonus Challenge trophy at Hialeah Park Sunday afternoon.
© Coady Photography
The home-bred winner was part of a three-horse driving finish that saw her edge past Game Rita in the final yards, with the runner-up three-quarters of a length better than third-place finisher Cme Leaving You.

Jess a Rogue, victorious for the fourth time in seven lifetime starts, earned the winner’s share of $13,500 and upped her career earnings to $80,647.

Racing for owner Yoandry Hernandez, Game Rita earned $4,500 for her second place effort. Yoel Luis saddled the Game Patriot 3-year-old with Osdany Leal getting the riding assignment. Joseph Touchet bred Game Rita in Texas from the Victory Dash mare Victorita. She has earned $28,426.

Cme Leaving You races for owner Carlos Ramos and trainer Ricardo Martinez. Raul Gutierrez rode the Coronas Leaving You filly out of Stoli Oak, by Stoli. She earned $2,475 for the effort.

Completing the official order of finish in the 2015 Sparkling Tip Bonus Challenge was Hayjay, Portrait of a Hero, Aamos Moses, Aero, and Streakin Lil Chick.

The penultimate weekend of the 2014-15 live Quarter Horse season concludes with a nine-race program on Monday afternoon starting, as always, at 12:35 PM ET.

Hialeah Park will then present a total of nine guaranteed-money or added-money stakes races on closing weekend of the meet. On Saturday February 28, the card will include the Miami-Dade County Stakes, the AQHA Maiden Challenge Stakes, the Sunshine State Derby (FL), and the South Florida Quarter Horse Stakes. On Sunday March 1, the program will feature the Lucky Loser Stakes, the Beautiful Prairie Stakes, the Sailfish Stakes, the $100,000-added South Florida Quarter Horse Derby and the $100,000-guaranteed Sam Abbey Memorial.