Alberto Rosiles’ Rite Quick proved once again that he’s the king of the short distances at Los Alamitos Race Course. The gelding by Favorite Cartel successfully defended his title in the $15,000 The Blink Of An Eye Handicap, winning the 110-yard race in the final few jumps to edge the razor sharp Jimbosecret by a neck here on Saturday night.
Ridden by Jesus Rios Ayala for trainer Yanet Rodriguez, Rite Quick covered the 110 yards in :07.056 while earning $8,250 for the win. Bred by Dr. Steve Burns, Rite Quick won The Blink Of An Eye last year when it was held at 100 yards. In between his two stakes victories, the 5-year-old gray flash competed four times at the 110-yard distance resulting in three wins, including a track record of :06.99 at 110 yards on July 7, 2019, and a second place finish. All in all, Rite Quick has won five of his last six starts at these distances.
“He wins at the start,” Rosiles said. “He broke a little slow tonight, but he has a great jockey and caught them at the end. We’ve always wanted to run him at the 100 and 110 yard distances. We knew he had great velocity. We’ve run him at 300 and 350 yards and he’s done well in those races too. Things went right just like they did last year. The credit goes to trainer (Yanet Rodriguez), who has done a great job with this horse. She’s just very dedicated to her horses. ”
Prior to this victory, Rite Quick competed in the more traditional Quarter Horse distances of 300 and 350 yards. Like Rosiles pointed out, he’s done just fine at those distance. He was second to Duck Dash N Go in the 300-yard Super Sound Charge Handicap held here on December 15. He was also the runner-up to Tac Me Out in the 350-yard Cypress Handicap on January 17.
It all adds up to a lot of fun times for Rosiles.
“I started owning horses with my brothers dating back 1994. We had a few horses, but we’ve bred a few and purchased a few. We’ve always been involved with the horses. We enjoy it. We do what we can. We love this sport. Moments like these, that’s what it’s all about. It’s hard to describe the feeling of winning a race. It’s just pure happiness.”
Rite Quick has won eight of 23 career starts. His career bankroll is now $69,960.
Kolleen Ledgerwood’s Jimbosecret earned $3,375 for his second place finish. He came into this race after posting back-to-back wins in allowance races contested at 330 and 300 yards. The Cartel Hawk, Spirit Foose, and My Favorite Cartel completed the field.
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