KJ Desparado wins Ruidoso Derby for sixth straight victory

KJ Desparado keeps finding ways to win.

On Saturday, the 3-year-old Arizona-bred son of Apollitical Jess rolled to a 2 1/4 length win in the Grade 1, 400-yard Ruidoso Derby. The win clinches the first leg of the Quarter Horse Triple crown for 3-year-olds.

KJ Desparado, who won last year's All American Futurity in Ruidoso, has won six straight races since finishing seventh in the 2021 Rainbow Futurity.

He also won last year's Texas Classic Futurity at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie. Saturday's winning time was 19.344 seconds.

"He's a sound horse, we've been fortunate that he's stayed healthy," said John Lee, who owns the horse along with Ruben Mares and Kathy Lee. "Love this horse and he keeps giving us great moments."

KJ Desparado has won 8 of 12 starts for trainer Wesley T. Giles. Adrian Ramos was the winning jockey and has been on the horse during his win streak.

"He was sharp. He's better than last year," Ramos said. "He got a good jump at the start and I knew he was gone."

Muy Peligrosito finished second for trainer Eric Valenzuela and with jockey Sergio Becerra, Jr. aboard. Kiss The Cartel was third for trainer Trey Wood and jockey Rickey Ramirez.

The connections for KJ Desparado said they will aim him for the Rainbow Derby trials next month.

"He's a once in a lifetime horse," Giles said. "He keeps getting better with each race and he gives us his best effort."

Added Kathy Lee: "We have a great team and that's what makes this so special. Wesley does a great job of training the horse and Adrian has been phenomenal. KJ Desparado has been nothing short of special."

Invitational Stakes

A Pollitical Candy V won the 400-yard Ruidoso Quarter Horse Invitational Stakes for the 3-year-olds who did not qualify for the Ruidoso Derby. It was his fifth win from 13 starts.

"This was a big win for him and we're hopeful for a big summer," said winning owner Samuel Valeriano of Odessa. "He proved that he is getting better with each race."

The winning trainer was Santos Carrizales and the winning jockey was Juan Pulido.

Ruidoso Futurity

Otts Boy proved why he was the 5-2 morning-line favorite with a near perfect performance in the 350-yard, $1 million race, which is the first leg of the Triple Crown for 2-year-old quarter horses.

The Texas-bred son of Mr Ottyes, who is a gelding, broke cleanly and defeated eight rivals in a time of 17.673 seconds. He was 1 1/4 lengths better than second-place finisher Getthere Fast.

"This horse is special and I knew he was special from the first time we put him in the game," said winning trainer Toby Keeton, who picked up his second Ruidoso Futurity win. "He's a great horse and he's got lots of potential."

Otts Boy, who left post at odds of 7-2, is a homebred, who is owned Luke Goebel. The horse is named after Luke’s father Otto Goebel, who raced horses for decades and owned Otts Boy’s sire, Mr Ottyes. Otto passed away in 2014, and when the horse was born Goegel's son Luke decided to name it in honor of his father.

"I wish my dad was here to watch this, he'd be proud," Goebel said. "This is a special horse. We plan to run him in the Rainbow and All American Futurity trials."

Winning jockey Ramon Sanchez praised Otts Boy for his performance.

"He's maturing and he handled this race great," Sanchez said. "He was clearly more relaxed this time and he broke well. He can go longer distances and can do great things."

Keeton also trained the second-place horse, Getthere Fast, who was ridden by Bryan Candanosa. Hesjudgeandjury was third for trainer Heath Taylor and jockey James Flores.

Chasing AJ left the gate as the 2-1 post time favorite but never found his groove and finished fifth.

Ruidoso Juvenile Stakes

Rock A Jess V won the 350-yard race for those who did not qualify for the Ruidoso Futurity. He won the race in 17.830 seconds.

The winning jockey was Pulido, the winning trainer was Carrizales and Valeriano was the winning owner.

"He ran a good race, very solid," Pulido said. "He's really maturing and I believe he has a chance to qualify for the Rainbow and All American Futurities."

Aristides was third for trainer Trey Wood and Runaway Wildfire was third for trainer John Stinebaugh.

Jackie's Warrior victorious

Jackie's Warrior, who is owned by El Paso's Kirk and Judy Robison, won the 6 1/2 furlong True North Stakes on Friday at Belmont Park in New York.

The Grade 2 race was worth $300,000. The Kentucky-bred son of Maclean Music won the race in 1:15.03 for trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Joel Rosario.

Jackie's Warrior has won all three starts in 2022.

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Felix F. Chavez may be reached at 915-546-6167; fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: KJ Desparado wins Ruidoso Derby for another victory