AMERICAN QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION, APRIL 16, 2014—Dash Master Jess made a major move in this week’s AQHA Racing-Horseplayernow.com National Poll, zooming all the way to No. 5 following his score in Saturday’s $111,780 Bank of America Sam Houston Championship Challenge (G2). It marked his second stakes win on the young season after taking Hialeah’s Sam Abbey Memorial Invitational in February.

The poll’s second newcomer this week, Moonist, checked in at No. 9. The wire-to-wire winner of the $202,100 El Primero Del Ano Derby (G3) at Los Alamitos has won four of his last five starts for trainer John Cooper.

Los Alamitos Winter Championship (G1) heroine Nellie Delaney continues atop the national rankings this week as she has all season. Pollsters this week made a surprising flip of No. 2 Viva Mi Corazon and No. 3 TF Featured Effort despite both horses being idle.

The season’s first 2-year-old poll will debut in two weeks on April 30.

NATIONAL RANKINGS, 3-YEAR-OLDS & OLDER

1. NELLIE DELANEY (101)
2. VIVA MI CORAZON (91)
3. TF FEATURED EFFORT (86)
4. LLANO CARTEL (79)
5. DASH MASTER JESS (62)
6. FEATURE MR WHO (40)
7. ONE VALIANT HERO (38)
8. SOMETHIN LIKE THIS (25)
9. MOONIST (22)
10. NATIVE TEA ROSE (13)

Eye On Corona (8), Wicked Courage (6), Fiesty Flo (5), I Azoomed You Knew (5), Here Kittykittykitty (2), Spirit Leader (2), Woodys Allstar (1).

The 11 voters are:
Ed Burgart (Los Alamitos announcer/handicapper), Martha Claussen (Q-Racing Ace, writer/handicapper), Mike Cusortelli (writer/handicapper), Tom Dawson (Q-Racing Ace, network television producer), Dale Day (Remington Park announcer/handicapper), Ben Hudson (TRACK Magazine Owner/Publisher), Mike Joyce (TVG analyst), Jeremy Plonk (Night School co-founder/host), Jerry Shottenkirk (Horseplayernow.com, handicapper/oddsmaker), Terry Turrell (Horseplayernow.com handicapper) and Ty Wyant (writer, Daily Racing Form and AQHA).

AQHA News and information is a service of the American Quarter Horse Association. For more news and information, follow @AQHARacing on Twitter, watch the AQHA Racing Newscast and visit www.aqharacing.com.