Don’t Look Twice and Ollies Spooky Cat topped a tough field of Super Stakes Classic first round contenders with twin scores of 220 points.
Twenty-five horses scored 217 points or more out of the 130 horses that advanced to the final go-round, with at least 212 points. Third Cutting, the 2009 NCHA Super Stakes and Derby champion, owned by Carl and Shawnea Smith, marked the second-highest score of 219.5 points under Boyd Rice. Rice also scored 218 points on Peptos Stylish Sue; 217 points with Dual Spark; and 216 aboard Smart Kitty RG, the 2008 NCHA Futurity Open reserve champion.
Phil Rapp shows Dont Look Twice for Louis and Corliss Baldwin, and Austin Shepard rides Ollies Spooky Cat for Khader Daoud. Rapp also advanced with 216 points on ARC Catty Dual and This Kats King, while Shepard scored 216.5 points on Playin At The Mall and 216 aboard Snazzy Easter Bunny.
Tuesday’s top scoring horses both came from the last set of the day – Third Cutting, with 219.5 points, and Special Nu Kitty, with 219 points under R.L. Chartier for Wrigley Ranches, Weatherford, TX.
“I couldn’t have asked for her to be any better,” said Chartier. “We had three tough cows. She’s so smart and she’s quick underneath you, if you’re not ready. But she’s got eye appeal, too. Special Nu Kitty, by High Brow Cat, marked 227 points in the first go-round of the 2007 NCHA Futurity — the highest go-round score in the history of the event.
Special Nu Kitty and Special Nu Baby, a 2010 Super Stakes first round leader, with 219 points under Matt Gaines, are half-sisters out of Nu I Wood, an all-time leading earner of over $400,000. Special Nu Kitty and Special Nu Baby have each earned well over $100,000.
Stylish And Foxie siblings are competive, too
Full siblings Peptos Stylish Miss, Miss Stylish Pepto, and Eyez On Me, by Peptoboonsmal and out of Stylish And Foxie, rode the crest to today’s second go-round.
Six-year-old Peptos Stylish Miss scored 218.5 points yesterday with John Mitchell for Slate River Ranch, Weatherford, TX.
“That’s nearly the best she’s ever been,” said Mitchell. “She’s had a lot of big runs. The action here didn’t show as much as in other runs, but the cows were so tricky.
“They tried to trick her and she slowed down and made it look so simple. But it wasn’t. She was phenomenal.” Peptos Stylish Miss placed fourth in the 2008 NCHA Super Stakes and has earned more than $250,000, ridden exclusively by Mitchell.
Veteran Bill Riddle, who won the 1988 NCHA Super Stakes riding Aglows First Rio, shows both Miss Stylish Pepto and Eyez On Me. It was Riddle who rode the sisters’ dam, Stylish And Foxie, as reserve champion of the 1997 NCHA Super Stakes and to earn her over $300,000.
Terry Riddle, Bill’s brother, showed Foxie Merada, the dam of Stylish And Foxie, to win the 1990 Super Stakes for Chuck Drummond. It was Drummond who owned Docs Stylish Oak, the sire of Stylish And Foxie.
“I’ve been real fortunate to have good horses,” said Bill Riddle. “In this business, if you don’t have more than one (good horse), it’s hard to recoup sometimes. “I had a wreck the other day on my four-year-old that’s a great mare, but I was able to come back with another really good horse and get it shown.
“When you can do that, everything looks better and you feel better about yourself.”
On Monday, Riddle and 6-year-old Miss Stylish Pepto marked 219 points, ultimately the third-highest score from the first go-round. Miss Stylish Pepto, the earner of nearly $200,000, is owned by Glenn and Debbie Drake, Napa, CA.
Yesterday, Riddle rode 5-year-old Eyez On Me, also owned by Glenn and Debbie Drake, to score 217 points.
“He’s a beautiful moving horse and, to me, a little quicker and a little stronger than the mare,” said Riddle, who placed third riding Eyez On Me in the 2009 NCHA Super Stakes.
Stella competitors
Half-sisters Catrina Starlight, by Highbrow Cat, and Wanda Rey, by Dual Rey, also made the “A” list for today’s action. Both mares are ridden by Bruce Morine and out of 2000 NCHA Futurity Non-Pro champion Stella Starlight, who was trained by Morine for Lach Perks.
Catrina Starlight, owned by Kyle Manion, who will show her in the Non-Pro division next week, scored 217 points, while Wanda Rey, owned by Lach and Jan Perks, marked 216.
“I like all of those out of Stella,” said Morine. “They’ve been good to me.”