With a rousing late run, 19-1 long shot Whisper’s Sister swept on past Quinton’s Doll Who in the final yards to win the $110,000 Enchantress Stakes at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino on Sunday.
The lightly regarded sort sprouted wings with a quarter mile to go and seemed to relish the one mile distance of the feature race. The two-year-old Ghostly Moves filly made a five-wide move off the far turn and began her attack on the front runners. Her task was challenging as Quinton’s Doll Who had built up a sizeable 3-length advantage through mid-stretch. But Whisper’s Sister was undaunted. She made her first attempt at one mile a stakes winning one. The upstart New Mexico-bred won by a half-length. She returned $40.60 on a $2 win ticket.
Jockey Kelsi Purcell placed a masterful ride on the winner by saving ground on the first turn and remaining patient in the early stages. Purcell won last season’s Island Fashion Stakes aboard a similar long shot winner – Golden Springs.
Whisper’s Sister earned $66,000 from her second career win. She is owned by Joe Milam of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Long time Sunland Park trainer Paul Smith is the winning trainer.
The stakes placed filly Quinton’s Doll Who looked well on her way to victory in upper stretch. She was steamrolling and opening up on the field with Ry Eikleberry in the saddle. The daughter of Quinton’s Gold was just caught on the wire. The Joel Marr trained runner-up earned $23,100. Capote’s Charm closed along the rail to finish fourth. Super Stormy was nearly 8 lengths back in fourth place.
Little Bit Southern scored an authoritative win in the $110,000 Lou Wooten Handicap at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino on Sunday. The rapidly improving Southern Corona mare loves the Sunland strip and responded with a career best performance under 2011 West Texas Futurity winning jockey Oscar Rincon.
Dismissed at over 8-1 odds, Little Bit Southern broke well and kicked into high gear midway through the 400 yard dash for New Mexico-bred fillies and mares. With a powerful turn of foot, Little Bit Southern pulled clear of an elite field including Jenuine Joy and won comfortably by 1 and 1/4 lengths. She sped through the distance in a fast 19.163 seconds, good for a 91 speed index. The winner paid $19.00 on a $2 win ticket
Trained by Victor Rodriguez, Little Bit Southern earned her 6th career win from 28 starts. She earned a $66,000 check from her first stakes win for winning owner Edilberto Estrada of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The four-year-old speedster has earned over $184,000.
Snow Regard performed well for trainer Juan M. Gonzalez. The New Mexico Cup Filly and Mare Championship winner finished with energy to gain second place under jockey Jaime Parga Leos. The Chicks Regard filly made a nice bid but was no match late for the winner. The runner-up earned $23,100 for the K H Logax, Inc.
Blushing Cartel wound in third place, beaten nearly 2 lengths.
Defending champion Jenuine Joy dropped her head at the break and lost all chance. The multiple stakes winner suffered her first defeat over Sunland Park soil. She raced as the 8-5 favorite with over $381,000 in career earnings. The five-year-old gray mare finished last in the 10 horse field.
Live racing will happen on Tuesday through Friday of next week. There will be racing on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (Dec 20-23). Post time each day is 12:25 p.m. There will be no live racing on Saturday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve) or Sunday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day).