Big Day for Trainer Rolando Almanza at Hialeah
Opening day of the 2015-16 live Quarter Horse racing season at Hialeah Park turned out to be a very successful afternoon for trainer Rolando Almanza.
Not only did he saddle Moonin the Eagle to an impressive victory in the fourth and final trial heat for the $100,000-added Hialeah Maturity on January 17, he also sent out his “big horse” Daytona B to a solid score in the $25,000 Bienvenido de Nuevo Stakes, the stakes opener for the season at this iconic South Florida track.
Daytona B, running for the first time since winning the Bank of America Challenge Championship at Lone Star Park in early November, bested 40-1 outsider Talktomeson by 1 ¼ lengths as a 1-9 favorite under jockey Ricky Ramirez. Mesa Marvel, ¾ of a length behind the runner-up, took third, with Mo Zoomo grabbing the fourth spot.
The winner, a gelded son of First Down Dash-Dashing Pana, covered 330 yards in 16.680 seconds to score his ninth career victory and fourth win from five starts at Hialeah Park. Daytona B earned the winner’s share of $15,000 for owner Gregorio Garcia Garza and upped his lifetime earnings to $487,353.
“We shipped him here ‘accidentally’ and decided not to send him back,” trainer Rolando Almanza said of Daytona B. “His owner wanted to run in some stakes races at Sunland Park, but we decided to keep him here. With this win under his belt, we’ll shoot for a repeat in the Sam Abbey Memorial.”
Jockey Ricky Ramirez, asked about Daytona B’s slight stutter-step at the start, commented, “He took a little step right before the gates opened and he did bobble a bit at the break. But it only took him two or three steps to find his stride, he dug in hard, and we got rolling late.”
Ramirez was aboard Moonin the Eagle as the three-year-old colt also recorded a fourth victory at Hialeah Park. Last season’s South Florida Quarter Horse Derby winner defeated Rattle N Battle by a half-length as he covered 440 yards in 21.917 seconds. Those two were the only Hialeah Maturity qualifiers to break the 22-second mark.
The complete list of the ten qualifiers, with trainers, for the $100,000-added Hialeah Maturity on Sunday January 17, 2016 is as follows: Moonin The Eagle (Almanza) 21.917, Rattle N Battle (Stinebaugh) 21.986, Premier Ethics (Vazquez) 22.010, Seize the Win (Frazier) 22.105, DeMille (Morales) 22.130, Tf Cajun Cartel (Carrete) 22.133. Rc Me Leaving You (Kearl) 22.141, Mavara Las Vegas (Caballero) 22.145, Yurman (Welch) 22.255, A Royal Fling (Welch) 22.230.
Source: Hialeah Park