While Big Brown disappointed his backers this weekend in the Belmont Stakes, Jess Significant delivered in the $500,000 Ruidoso Futurity, the first leg of Quarter racing’s 2-year-old Triple Crown. In addition, Jess Significant’s stablemate, Heartswideopen, winner of last year’s Ruidoso Futurity and $2 million All American Futurity, claimed victory in the Ruidoso Derby.

Both mares, trained by Carl Draper for Manny and Javier Rodriguez’ La Feliz Montana Ranch, were the fastest qualifers for their respective races. It was the fourth win from 5 starts for Jess Significant, a Mr Jess Perry daughter out of 2000 Rainbow Futurity winner Significant Speed. She covered the 350-yard distance, under Bonifacio Perez, in 17.454, three-quarters of a length in front of second-placed Miss Lena Perry, also owned by La Feliz Montana Ranch. Feature Ten finished third.

“She broke perfect and ran a perfect race,” said Perez of Jess Significant, a $130,000 Ruidoso Select Quarter Horse Sale purchase. Miss Lena Perry, with 2 wins and 2 seconds in four starts, was the sixth fastest qualifier for the 10-horse field. Trained by Jose Meraz and ridden by Noe Garcia, the Mr Jess Perry daughter was a $65,000 Ruidoso Select Quarter Horse Sale purchase.

Heartswideopen, who set a world record of 20.921 for a female at 440 yards, in her All Amercian Futurity trial, covered the 400-yard Ruidoso Derby distance in 19.763, to beat second-placed Strong Hope by half a length. Noconi was a neck behind Strong Hope in third.

Last year, Draper elected to skip the second leg of the Triple Crown (the Rainbow Futurity) with Heartswideopen to keep her fresh for the All American Futurity. Following her $1 million victory in that race, the Feature Mr Jess daughter had surgery to remove chips from her right knee and right ankle and did not compete for the remainder of the year. This past January, she was recognized by the American Quarter Horse Association as 2-Year-Old Champion Filly of 2007, and she made her 2008 debut in the Ruidoso Derby trials.