Woody Be Tuff, the first horse to work in the Augusta Classic Non-Pro finals on Thursday evening, with owner Jill Peacock, came back two hours later, as the last horse in the first set of open competition, to win with 226 points under trainer Austin Shepard. Dual Smart Rey, ridden by Phil Rapp for Strawn Valley Ranch, took reserve with 222.5 points.
It was the first Augusta Futurity win for Shepard, who finished second in the 2005 Augusta Open Classic and Western Horseman’s Cup riding Widows Intentions for Jim Langdale, who won the Western Horseman Cup’s Non-Pro division that year. Shepard also tied for 13th place Thursday with 213 points aboard Show Biz Ben, owned by Becky Elliot, Estill, SC.
Peacock, who scored 213 points and placed 12th in Thursday night’s non-pro division, purchased the now 6-year-old Woody Be Tuff, by Nitas Wood, as a 3-year-old from breeder, Craig Crumpler, Wichita Falls, TX. Crumpler’s son, Dillon, started the the horse and Craig’s brother, Don, finished him.
Last year, Peacock showed Woody Be Tuff as a non-pro finalist in the Memphis Classic (5th), was reserve champion of the Bonanza Classic and the Cotton Stakes Classic; as well as a finalist in the NCHA Classic (7th).
“Nothing else feels like him,” said Peacock. “He’s just fun. Everybody should get a chance to ride a horse like him.”
Shepard claimed the reserve title on Woody Be Tuff at the 2006 Music City Classic and placed fifth on him in the 2006 Ike Hamilton Memorial Classic.
Queen trumps the field
Last year, Skip Queen and Sister CD claimed the reserve championship of the Augusta Non-Pro Futurity. This year they took the full title with a 227-point winning run. Mary Ann Rapp, who immediately preceded Queen as the seventh rider in the first bunch, scored 222 points on Reytilda for reserve.
Queen’s Augusta win on Sister CD came on the heels of the pair’s reserve championship run two weeks ago in the Abilene Spectacular. Trainer Paul Hansma will show the gelding Friday night in the $89,000 Western Horseman Cup presented by UBS.
With Thursday night’s winnings, Sister CD, bred by Bar H Ranche and sired by CD Olena, now has lifetime earnings of $319,915, which ranks him among cutting’s all-time leading money earners.