Stylish Jess Br
3-Year-Old Filly
(Feature Mr Jess - Stylish Secret by Dash For Cash)

Qualified by winning the Mildred Vessels Memorial Handicap

Lifetime Record: 12-5-5-2, $502,430 2008 Record: 5-1-4-0, $335,381

Stylish Jess Br's victory in September's Mildred Vessels Handicap was not only the first Grade I triumph of her career, it also earned her an invitation to the prestigious Champion Of Champions run later this month in December. An earner of $502,430 lifetime, the brown filly has now won five of 12 starts while finishing in the top three in every one of her outings. The talented sprinter won her first four career starts, including the Ed Burke Memorial Juvenile Stakes, and her record also including a third place finish in last year's Golden State Million Futurity and a second place finish in this year's Golden State Derby won by One Famous Eagle.

Her trainer Paul Jones described Stylish Jess Br's effort in the Mildred Vessels as perfect. "She broke straight and ran hard. I couldn't have asked for a better effort. We were high on her from the first time we worked her and it's really nice to see what we have in her." Since capturing the Mildred Vessels Memorial Handicap, Stylish Jess Br also ran second in the Grade I Los Alamitos Super Derby on November 9th behind her nemesis One Famous Eagle.

Paul Jones is enjoying another outstanding year at Los Alamitos in 2008. Easily the meet's leading trainer, Jones has won 175 Quarter Horse races as of December 8, while finishing second in another 175 and third in 156 races. He has saddled 995 horses at Los Alamitos this year. His horses have earned nearly $4 million at Los Alamitos alone in 2008 - and another $2 million combined at racetracks like Ruidoso Downs and Zia Park. His win ratio of 17.6 percent is remarkable considering that he often, especially in big races, saddles more than one horse per race. He currently ranks second in Quarter Horse wins all-time at Los Alamitos, only behind the legendary Blane Schvaneveldt.

It appears that Benny Rosset will be part of the Champion of Champions after all. The Brazilian-based Quarter Horse owner was unlucky when he missed taking part in last year's Champion of Champions after his two qualifiers, Strength In Numbers and No Secrets Here, had to withdraw from the prestigious race because of injuries. Rosset now looks forward to seeing his 3-year-old filly Stylish Jess Br race in this year's Champion of Champions courtesy of a victory over a strong field of fillies and mares in the $250,000 Mildred Vessels Memorial Handicap on September 20th. "I don't want to be greedy but I hope that Benny gets what's coming to him," said Vince Genco, who manages Rosset's horses in the U.S. "Benny has made a great investment in the sport and it's not just those horses. He has a lot of others that have not made it. He has paid his dues and I hope he gets whatever is coming to him, whatever that is. Last year, it wasn't meant for him to be in the Champion of Champions but this year it's different." No Secrets Here is also now eligible to the $750,000 Champion Of Champions after the defection of Bank Of America Challenge Championship winner Wrs Special Shoe. No Secrets Here gained admission to this race by virtue of his second-place finish in last month's Z Wayne Griffin Directors Trial.

Benny Rosset is one of the most influential horsemen in Brazil, as the President of the Jockey Club in Sorocaba. In Brazil, Rosset runs a company that manufactures lingerie and swinsuits for Victoria's Secret and swinsuits for The Gap. Rosset's company's Cia Maritama beachwear has been featured at New York's Fashion Week. He also operates the 1,500-acre Haras Flor the Campo (Flowers of the Field Farm) near Sorocoba, Brazil, a farm that in past has been home to stallions Splash Bac and Dash To Chivato. His wife, Carla, is as Rosset explains it "crazy about horses." Rosset credits her for his involvement in the sport. "She asked me why we couldn't have just one horse. I told her I didn't want to have horses because I hurt myself once. I was afraid of horses. She asked me for a year, and then I bought a horse. I fell in love with horses again." A father of three children ages 12 to 8, Rosset's racing operation in the United States is handled by Vince Genco of Clovis, California. ""Benny is one of the most unassuming guys that you'll ever meet," Genco said. "When he won the All American Futurity with No Secrets Here I thought he was going to have a heart attack because he was so excited. For a moment, I thought everyone was going to be in the winner's circle celebrating while I was going to be stuck giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He'll be excited about the Champion of Champions. He calls it 'the thunder in his belly.' He'll get excited and nervous - I will too - but you know, he deserves it because he loves the sport and he's made a big investment in Quarter Horse racing. Plus, he's one of the nicest guys that you'll ever meet," Genco concluded. 7,162, and Satin Cooper, a winner of $24,859, plus four other Quarter Horses.