Mr Piloto, a 22-1 longshot, ran down the outside of the track to narrowly defeat favored JLS Mr Bigtime and Dominyun in the $2,050,000 All American Futurity on Monday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs.
It shares a record as the closest finish in 52 runnings of Quarter Horse racing’s showcase event. The top three horses were separated by two noses, as in 1972, when 21-1 longshot Possumjet beat Miss Ooo Wee and Callmemyoh.
Mr Piloto raced the 440 yards in :21.553 to earn the $1-million first-place check, the richest in quarter horse racing.
Second-placed JLS Mr Bigtime was timed in :21.556 and Dominyun was clocked in :21.558.
“He broke really good,” said winning jockey Esgar Ramirez, who scored his first All American Futurity win. “I was in front all the way and I started getting excited because I didn’t see anybody besides me. I just kept riding all the way to the wire.”
Runner-up JLS Mr Bigtime, the fastest qualifier, had a rough trip from the inside post position. He broke inward and then was bothered when Prospect To The Top, in the fourth post position, bore in. Prospect To The Top eliminated 2-1 second-choice Miss Racy Jess and the incident pushed JD Baccarat, in the two hole, close to JLS Mr Bigtime. Prospect To The Top was disqualified from seventh to ninth because of the interference.
“He kinda threw his head up just as the gates opened and it probably cost him three-quarters of a length,” said JLS Mr Bigtime’s jockey Jacky Martin. “After I got by the horse next to me, there were four or five horses in front of me and I thought I caught him. I guess I was just a jump or two short.”
JLS Mr Bigtime came within a nose of giving Martin a record-extending eighth All American Futurity win. The Hall of Fame rider won the All American Derby on Sunday riding Double Down Special.
Bobby Cox’s third-place finisher Dominyun, in the seventh post position, had a clear trip and was on or near the lead for the entire 440 yards.
Mr Piloto, one of four mounts in the four-horse finals sired by Mr Jess Perry, is trained by 27-year-old Felipe Quintero, who became the second-youngest winning trainer in All American history.
“I can’t explain it,” said Quintero. “It’s the best feeling in the world. I just have to thank Esgar Ramirez, who did a wonderful job. He got the horse out of the gate the way he should. He did a marvelous job. It’s a team effort.”
Owned by Tremor Enterprises LLC, Mr Piloto was overlooked in the wagering, after winning his maiden in the trials with the 10th-fastest qualifying time of :21.477. He finished off the board in his first two starts, where he was ninth in a Ruidoso Futurity trial and fourth in a Rainbow Futurity trial.
JLS Mr Bigtime, owned by JLS Speedhorse Ranch, was the most accomplished horse coming into the All American Futurity. He was second in the Lee Berwick Futurity at Delta Downs and then set the fastest-qualifying time to the All American Futurity in his Ruidoso Downs debut, with a 1 1/2-length victory in :21.220.
“He just needs to learn that he’s gotta break,” said JLS Mr Bigtime’s trainer Darrel Soileau. “I’m disappointed because I was hoping he’d leave today. He was just a little tardy.
The official order of finish was Mr Piloto, JLS Mr Bigtime, Dominyun, Make Me Fly, DM Streakn Thru Fire, Cuz Iba Okey, Miss Racy Jess, JD Baccarat and Prospect To The Top. Episode of Fire was scratched.