Zoomin Feature headlines QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Derby Trials at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Zoomin Feature moved to the top of the leaderboard in the QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Derby trials Saturday, scoring his race in a time of 19.879 seconds as the fastest qualifier on the day.

He will return to the $117,286 final set for Aug. 30 at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Ridden by Edgar Diaz, the only jockey that has ever been aboard, Zoomin Feature (photo) came out of the gate strong from post eight and was in contention with AP Political Patriot and Francisco Quintero to his inside with Runninagainstdwind and Martin Munoz also in early contention from the inside.

Midway through the 400-yard dash, Zoomin Feature found another gear and was able to get a small advantage at the wire, just a nose ahead of AP Political Patriot. TW Trumps Secrets and Diego Villamil Bocanegra finished a head back in third in the three-way battle.

The trio of horses sit in the top three spots among the top 10 headed to the final.

Zoomin Feature was a surprise to the betting public, paying $31.20 for the win. The Jess Zoomin gelding is owned by Campos Family Ventures, who also bred and raised him. His win and his spot at the top of the finalists was no surprise to trainer Claudio Barraza.

“We had a lot of confidence in him today,” noted Barraza. “He’s one of our top horses in the barn. He just stumbled out of the gate in his last start and didn’t make the final (Blue River Derby Trial), but before that, he was right there in the Harley Greene Derby in both the trial and the final (finishing first in his trial and second by a neck in the final). We did put a flipping halter on him this year and its seemed to help him out.”

Right behind him is last year’s QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Futurity winner AP Political Patriot, owned and trained by Oscar Preciado, a graduate of Notre Dame with a degree in engineering. Horses are a passion for the Preciado family and they were excited to see their stable star make it back into the final of the third Derby this year at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

“We made a couple of adjustments on him (AP Political Patriot) and it seemed to work,” noted Preciado, whose silks are depicted on the jockey statue outside the winner’s circle as last year’s Restricted Grade 3 winner of the QHRAI Futurity. “We changed the bit and he broke out of the gate and ran like he was last year. We are really happy with his performance today.”

Other trial winners for the QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Derby included Mercy Im Hot, Racindirtysecrets, and Kadillaking. A total of 33 three-year-olds competed for a spot among the top 10 headed to the final.

Horses advancing to the final of the QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Derby with time and jockey, includes: Zoomin Feature (19.879, Edgar Diaz); AP Political Patriot (19.884, Francisco Quintero); TW Trumps Secrets (19.898, Diego Villamil Bocanegra); Runninagainstdwind (19.918, Martin Munoz); Jolie Laide (19.983, Eduardo Diaz); Kadillaking (20.018, Martin Munoz); Racindirtysecrets (20.049, Eduardo Diaz); Mercy Im Hot (20.061, Eduardo Diaz); Chiln (20.067, Rolando Pina); and Apolitical Wagon (20.096, Giovani Vazquez-Gomez).

Tim Eggleston will saddle four for the final (Jolie Laide, Racindirtysecrets, Mercy Im Hot, Chiln) while trainer Ricardo Martinez saddles two (Runninagainstdwind, Kadillaking).

The QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Derby will join the Restricted Grade 3 QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Futurity on Quarter Horse Stakes Day featuring four stakes and purses in excess of $500,000.

Martha Claussen, nationally known Quarter Horse racing analyst will be trackside to support the program, which includes trials for the three Indiana races feeding into the Bank of America Challenge Championships, the Cox Ranch Distaff, John Deere Juvenile, and Adequan Derby.

Last year’s winner of the John Deere Juvenile trial at Horseshoe Indianapolis, Arbitro, trained by Claudio Barraza and owned by Campos Family Ventures, went on to win the Grade 2 $144,000 final at The Downs at Albuquerque.

First post for Quarter Horse Stakes Day is set at 10:45 a.m.

The Shelby County Post is a digital newspaper producing news, sports, obituaries and more without a pay wall or subscription needed.