Trendi, at odds of 44-1, pulled off the upset of the year at Ruidoso Downs by handing number-one-ranked Quarter Horse runner Kiss My Hocks his first defeat, in the Grade 1, $900,000 Rainbow Futurity on Sunday afternoon .
Ridden by Larry Gamez, Trendi covered the 400 yards in :19.525 to defeat Kiss My Hocks by a neck. Eagle On The Fly finished third, one neck behind Kiss My Hocks.
“When I got her, she had already won (a maiden race at Delta Downs),†said trainer Wes Giles, who trains the 2-year-old filly for William Smith, who purchased her for $210,000 at the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale.
“If she would have run in the top-three I would have been happy, but you always want to win,†Giles added. “She can’t read, so she wasn’t worried (about Kiss My Hocks).â€
Trendi won her first two starts, including her Ruidoso Futurity trial, but did not qualify for the Futurity. She next finished second to Logans Zoomin in their Rainbow Futurity trial, which produced the three-fastest qualifiers to the Futurity: Logans Zoomin, Trendi and Tempting Valor.
Kiss My Hocks, the 3-10 odds on Rainbow Futurity favorite, sustained his first setback after five-straight wins, including the G2 Sam Houston Futurity and the G1 $700,000 Ruidoso Futurity.
“He lost his footing (at the start) and stumbled into Jm Miracle,” said Kiss My Hocks’ rider, Cody Jensen, who won the Rainbow Derby with Houdini on Saturday. “Trendi was already gone and we just couldn’t run her down.â€
Third-place finisher Eagle On The Fly, a daughter of One Famous Eagle, was trying for her third-straight win. She was a non-qualifying winner of her Ruidoso Futurity trial in her career debut and then won her Rainbow Futurity trial by one length.
Trendi’s full brother, Stolis Winner, won the 2008 Rainbow Futurity and then went on to win the All American Futurity and was named world champion as a two-year-old. Trendi and Stolis Winner are by Stoli and out of Veva Jean, by Runaway Winner.
The order of finish for the Rainbow Futurity: Trendi at 44-1; Kiss My Hocks at 3-10; Eagle On The Fly at 14-1; Bodacious Eagle at 12-1; Boi George at 28-1; Wild Sixes Cartel at 18-1; Tempting Valor at 36-1; Jm Miracle at 5-1; Logans Zoomin at 14-1.