March 15-16 Stakes Recap

Following is a recap of all official American Quarter Horse stakes for the week of March 15-16. For recaps of most graded stakes, Bank of America Racing Challenge stakes and trials, and most stakes with purses of $100,000 or more, see the individual recaps in the Racing News section. This page will be updated throughout the week.

Los Alamitos
Cattail Cove, an 8-year-old Favorite Cartel gelding owned by Link Newcomb, rallied to win Sunday's $35,000 Moonist Stakes.

Ridden by Martin Arriaga and sent to post as the 5-2 favorite in a field of eight aged sprinters, Cattail Cove went 400 yards in :19.889, and his margin of victory was a head from Doin It Just For Fun. Juan Aleman saddled the brown gelding.

Cattail Cove was bred in California by Dr. Steve Burns. The gelding was purchased by Newcomb for 62,000 at the 2018 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale.

Raced in California and New Mexico, Cattail Cove has won 11 of his 53 starts, and the $19,250 winner's share of the purse from his sixth lifetime stakes score bumped his bankroll to $761,545. According to Aleman, Cattail Cove will make a few more starts at this track before the end of the year.

“He is all heart," said Aleman. "With his age, we were indecisive whether we should run him or not, but Link has said that if the horse wants to keep running, let him run. He’s been showing us that he wants to keep running.

"It's amazing what he’s doing at 8 with this kind of company; he's still able to run them down," the trainer added. "He’s lost a step at the start, but he knows how to run, and he knows how to finish.”

Louisiana Downs
Fausto G. Mendoza's Five Bar Jess Cartel broke sharply from post 8 and sped to a wire-to-wire, one-length victory in Saturday's $30,000 Mr Jess Perry Stakes (R) for state-bred sprinters.

Aided by a reported 10-mph tail wind, Five Bar Jess Cartel went 350 yards in :17.292. Victor Urieta Jr. rode the 5-year-old Five Bar Cartel gelding for trainer John Norwood Jr.

Five Bar Jess Cartel earned a 111 speed index while banking the $18,000 winner's share of the purse from his second lifetime stakes win. The gelding was bred by Gerard Hebert, and he is out of Jess Tempting To Fly, a winning daughter of champion Tempting Dash.

Raced in two states, including Kentucky, Five Bar Jess Cartel has won eight of his 27 starts -- including four of five at this track -- and he has earned $180,634.

Sandy Ridge at The Red Mile
A double disqualification after a stewards' inquiry gave Angel Ventura's Can D Girl the victory in Sunday's 220-yard, $80,000 Cherokee Overnight Stakes.

Rustys Cowgirl crossed the wire first and TF Jess A Eagle crossed the wire second, a neck behind Rustys Cowgirl. However, the stewards disqualified Rustys Cowgirl and placed her seventh, and they placed TF Jess A Eagle fifth, giving the nod to Can D Girl, who crossed the wire third while stopping the timer in :12.091 on a sloppy track. Giovani Vazquez-Gomez rode the 3-year-old Uncle D filly for trainer Jessica Vazquez.

Can D Girl was making her first start since October 26, and she was making her first career start at this track in Lexington, Kentucky. The gray filly was bred in Oklahoma by Cavenaugh Quarter Horses, and she was purchased by Ventura for $11,000 at the 2023 Heritage Place Fall Mixed Sale.

Can D Girl was winning for the third time in eight races and increasing her earnings to $89,430. The filly was a finalist in last year's Heartland Futurity and Governor's Stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

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