Bp Moonlight Leads Talented Field Of Fillies And Mares Into G3 U U Bar Ranch Stakes

A talented group of fillies and mares will take center stage Friday afternoon at Albuquerque Downs, where a field of ten will line up for the Grade 3, $75,000 U U Bar Ranch Stakes.

The nine-race Friday program gets underway with first post at 1:30 p.m., building toward the featured fifth race at approximately 3:10 p.m. The U U Bar Ranch Stakes brings together fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and older, for a 400-yard test that features accomplished stakes runners and rising contenders.

Bp Moonlight leads the field as the 5-2 morning-line favorite after an impressive return to the races.

The five-year-old mare made her first start of the season a winning one, powering home against allowance company, drawing clear by 1 1/4 lengths and recording a 102 speed index. The performance showed she is ready for another run against stakes company as she enters Friday's contest in search of her seventh career victory.

Bp Moonlight has already built an impressive résumé, with six victories and earnings totaling $291,771, for owner David Pena-Marrufo, who purchased the mare for just $12,500 at the Heritage Place Sale.

The daughter of Moonin The Eagle is out of Bp Shes Southern, by Southern Cartel, and was bred in Oklahoma by Bill Price. Trainer Sebastian Gonzales will send the mare from post six, with the barn's regular rider, Joseph Belloc Jr., aboard.

Among her biggest challengers is Naughty Politics, the 7-2 second choice on the morning line.

The four-year-old mare enters Friday's feature after a strong runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Mr Jet Moore Stakes. Naughty Politics made a determined bid in that contest before settling for second, adding another graded stakes placing to an already consistent record.

Earlier this season, she captured the $75,000 La Plata Stakes and followed with a third-place finish in the Grade 3 John Andreini Memorial Stakes. With four wins, seven seconds, and one third, Naughty Politics has earned $142,188 and proven herself a consistent threat against stakes competition.

The daughter of Apollitical Blood is out of the Swingin Jess mare Naughty Jess. Bred in Oklahoma by Nick Reynolds, she races for owner Leonides Loya and is trained by Anthony Montoya. Gabriel Medrano will be aboard when she breaks from post three.

With Bp Moonlight arriving off a powerful season debut and Naughty Politics bringing proven stakes form into the starting gate, Friday's U U Bar Ranch Stakes sets up as an exciting 400-yard battle. Eight additional fillies and mares will add even more depth to a field where there will be little room for error once the gates open.

The Grade 3 U U Bar Ranch Stakes will highlight an action-packed Friday afternoon at Albuquerque Downs, offering racing fans and bettors another chance to see some of the region's accomplished female Quarter Horses showcase their speed.

The first post is set for 1:30 p.m., with the stakes action scheduled to take center stage in race five at approximately 3:10 p.m.

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

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