All American Futurity winner Heartswideopen had successful surgery on Monday in Weatherford, Texas to remove chips from her right knee and right ankle. She will not race again in 2007, precluding her from running in the $305,000 Southwest Juvenile Championship at Zia Park or the Grade 1, $2 million Los Alamitos Two Million at Los Alamitos.
“She’s excellent. She cleaned up well,” said trainer Carl Draper. “She should be 100 percent for next year.” Heartswideopen gave Draper his second All American Futurity win in four years. He also won the 2004 running with DM Shicago.
Draper now has plans for a 2008 campaign similar to the one he used for DM Shicago, when he won the 2004 All American Futurity and then swept the Ruidoso, Rainbow and All American derbies the following summer. DM Shicago is the only All American Futurity winner to return the next year and win the three Grade 1 derbies. Those three derby wins were earned DM Shicago the title of 2005 world champion.
Owned by Javier and Manny Rodriguez, Heartswideopen could well be on her way to a championship title as the only 2-year-old filly with two Grade 1 futurity wins. She won the Grade 1, $500,000 Ruidoso Futurity in a stakes-record :17.18 for 350 yards and then won the Grade 1 All American Futurity as the favorite
The daughter of Feature Mr Jess and 2-time champion Dashing Phoebe raced to an historic win in her All American Futurity trial when she was timed in :20.921 for 440 yards. That is the all-time fastest qualifying time to the All American Futurity and the fastest quarter mile ever run by a female of any age.
Heartswideopen will resume training in 2008 for her return to racing during the summer season at Ruidoso Downs. If she makes her seasonal debut in the Ruidoso Derby trials, as DM Shicago did in 2005, Heartswideopen will make her first 2008 start on Memorial Day weekend.
Rags To Riches also out until 2008
Rags To Riches, the first filly to win the Belmont Stakes in nearly 100 years, has been sidelined with a hairline fracture to her right front pastern that occurred during the Gazelle Stakes on September 15. She is expected to make a full recover and resume racing in 2008.
Trained by Todd Pletcher for Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor, the A.P. Indy daughter was a $1.9 million purchase during the 2005 Keeneland Yearling Sale. She has claimed three other Grade 1 victories, in addition to the 2007 Belmont Stakes: the Las Virgenes, Santa Anita Oaks, and Kentucky Oaks.