Julie Wrigley shut out the non-pro competition with wins in both the Non-Pro Derby and Non-Pro Classic/Challenge during the Breeders Invitational, which concluded on Friday, May 23 in Las Vegas. The two championships plus a sixth-place check on Faith In My Cat in the Non-Pro Classic/Challenge earned Wrigley a total of $63,698.

Wrigley claimed the Derby with 222.5 points aboard Special Nu Kitty, with Matt Miller as reserve with 221 on Skylin And Profilin. Wrigley had scored 219 to win the Classic/Challenge last week on CD Graceful Dual, with Hope Mitchell as reserve riding Cat N A Hat.

Special Nu Kitty, by High Brow Cat, was the horse that Clint Allen rode for Wrigley Ranches to mark 227 points in the first go-round of the NCHA Futurity, and to earn $42,734 in the Futurity Finals. Allen also rode the bay mare as reserve champion of the Tunica Futurity, placed third with her in the Cotton Stakes, and was an Abilene Spectacular, Augusta Futurity and Breeders Invitational finalist.

Wrigley, an attorney and Phoenix-based businesswoman, at one time managed the famous Wrigley Arabians, owned by her late husband, William Wrigley III, president of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. She had owned cutting horses briefly in the early 1980s, and returned to the sport as an amateur competitor in 2001. Wrigley maintains Wrigley Ranches in Weatherford, TX, which is operated by Clint Allen.

Combined, Wrigley and Allen’s earnings from the 2008 Breeder’s Invitational totaled $101,942. Earlier this year, Wrigley placed as a finalist on Wood I Never in both the open and non-pro divisions of the Western Horseman Cup.

In addition to placing as the Derby reserve champion on Skylin And Profilin, Matt Miller also won the Novice Non-Pro title on the gelded son of Mr Skyline Peppy, and split seventh in the Non-Pro Classic/Challenge riding Soda Rey Bay.