MARE’S FIRST FILLY DELIVERS STAKES WIN IN AQUALINA
The Hernandez Family were thrilled when their then 16-year-old broodmare Coronatac finally gave them a filly in 2019. Up to that point, the Corona Cartel mare had only given birth to colts, nine of them to be more exact.
Her juveniles had included many outstanding runners, including the excellent Commando Tres Seis, a winner of over $51,000 and a finalist to the 2012 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity won by AQHA champion Matabari. Jess Anothercommando, who is the first filly out of Coronatac, was certainly worth the wait, as she gave the Hernandez Family another great racing thrill after winning the $20,000 Aqualina Handicap on Saturday at Los Alamitos.
Ridden by Cruz Mendez and trained by Jose Flores, Jess Anothercommando was also picking up her second win in a row after defeating a nice group of allowance horses here on September 25. Owned and bred by Veronica M. Hernandez, the Mr Jess Perry filly left the gate nicely from post number four and picked up speed with each stride on the way to a ¾ length victory in the Aqualina at 300 yards.
Covering the distance in a time of :15.667, Jess Anothercommando has now won three of seven career starts. The runner-up in the Arizona Downs Stakes earlier this year, Jess Anothercommando took her career earnings to $26,365 after winning $11,000 in this race.
“We’ve been waiting for her to show up like that,” Flores said. “She’s a half sister to Commando Tres Seis. who was one of the fastest horses probably that we’ve had. I remember that he worked :11.9 early in his 2-year-old year. He was amazing. He qualified to the Two Million after a big trial win. This filly showed a lot in her allowance win here and we’re excited about her future.”
Hector Hernandez campaigned Commando Tres Seis and keeps Coronatac at his home in San Bernardino, California.
“She’s given us a lot of nice horses including Commando Tres Corona, who was really fast,” Hernandez said. “We just have two broodmares at our place so it’s nice to have a filly like Jess Anothercommando.”
Ed Allred’s Budget Buster finished second in the Aqualina to continue her nice string of performances during her juvenile season. The Kiddy Up filly has now finished in the top three in six of nine starts. Trained by Scott Willoughby and ridden by Victor Salazar, she earned $4,500 for running second to take her earnings to $17,160. The Flores-trained Favorite First Down, who came in after running third in the Grade 2 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity, finished third. The top three finishers were followed by Val Frida, Cumbia, Burning Dream and Seems Up.
-30-