Trainer Randy Smith had four horses qualify for the 23rd running of the $196,736 QHRAI Stallion Service Auction Futurity. So he had to move outside of his regular jockeys to cover all four horses and called upon Erik Esqueda to ride Winner Spirit.
The pairing proved to be a winning connection as Esqueda guided Winner Spirit to victory in the stakes, which sported the largest purse in the history of the race.
It wasn’t the greatest start for Winner Spirit out of the gate. Esqueda had to quickly check and correct his ride, who jumped out of the gate from the extreme outside post, but he quickly got him back on track and focused on his job.
Flat Out Smoking and Giovani Vazquez Gomez had the early advantage from the inside with Runaway Beach Chic and Francisco Quintero also getting good early positioning. Midway through the 350-yard dash, Winner Spirit began to lengthen his stride and was passing horses to his left with every step. Once he was clear of the field, he easily went under the wire as the winner by one length in a time of 17.999 seconds.
Runaway Beach Chic, the longest shot on the board, finished second over Flat Out Smoking.
It was the third win in five starts for Winner Spirit, who paid $13.20 for the win. The freshman son of Apollitical Spirit is owned by breeder Walter “Dick” Harrison and trained by Randy Smith. The gelding only had a little more than $19,000 on his card coming into the event, but he leaves with more than $126,000 on his card.
“The horse didn’t break great, but he was able to pull it together,” said Esqueda, who scored wins in both the QHRAI SSA Derby and Futurity, a first in his career. “I want to thank God, the trainer, and I’m just thankful for the opportunity to ride a great horse like this.”
Esqueda (photo, far left) has been among the track’s top five Quarter Horse riders all season. The 21-year-old is having a banner year and on track to top last year’s tally, his best to date since beginning his riding career in 2019.
“It feels good to win both stakes,” added Esqueda.
