Flag Ranch sire One Time Honor | Courtesy Flag Ranch
No other sire put more than two horses in the 20-horse short round in Amarillo, Texas. A Relentless Buzz is fourth on three head for Trevor Brazile, One Time Pick seventh for Billie Jack Saebens, Relentless Kat 10th for Miles Baker and Fury Of Honor 14th for Jake Cooper.
Flag Ranch LLC bred all five. It also bred Una Furiosa, ninth for Saebens, which gives the ranch five of the 20 finalists. No other breeder has more than one.
Jake Cooper and Fury of Honor | TRJ File Photo
His horses also ran up the most big scores. One Time Honor offspring marked 225 or better seven times in three rounds, a quarter of the 28 such runs in the class. No other sire had more than three.
The fifth, Nestle Time, ranked fourth after the first round for Kaden Richard before falling to 62nd.
Here is how the rest of the 20 finalists break down by pedigree, sex and age, based on Old West results and registration records.
Sixteen sires, 17 dam sires
Sixteen stallions sired the 20 finalists. Stevie Rey Von is the only other sire with more than one, and he went 2 for 2: Crosby Ray Von is sixth for Brazile and Dmac Straight Up 17th for Dakota Kirchenschlager. The other 14 sires have one finalist each.
On the bottom side, Valiant Hero shows up the most. He sired the leader, Fendiii, and is the dam sire of Crosby Ray Von and Relentless Kat, which puts him in the pedigrees of three finalists, all in the top 10.
Furyofthewind is the dam sire of Fury Of Honor and Una Furiosa, both Flag Ranch-bred. Dual Rey is the dam sire of Catty Reyz (5th) and Ref Rooleta (15th). Winners Version works both ways: he sired 20th-place Marias Version and is the dam sire of third-place Kynis Brookstone.
Miles Baker and Relentless Kat | TRJ File Photo
Geldings carry the numbers
Geldings made up 39 of the 92 entries and 10 of the 20 finalists. They advanced at the highest rate of any group, 26%, and hold six of the top 10 spots. Three of One Time Honor’s four finalists are geldings.
Mares advanced at 20%, seven of 35. Stallions advanced at 17%, three of 18. Kynis Brookstone, third for Rhen Richard, is the only stallion in the top 10.
Every 4-year-old made it
Three horses in the class are 2022 foals, 4-year-olds entered against horses one and two years older. All three made the finals: Fendiii, Crosby Ray Von and Frenchmans Buddy, 13th for Kaleb Driggers. All three are also entered in the Pre-Futurity Heading on Oct. 13.
By comparison, 10 of 49 5-year-olds (20%) and seven of 38 6-year-olds (18%) advanced. All four One Time Honor finalists are 5 or 6.
Billie Jack Saebens and One Time Pick | TRJ File Photo
Under a point to spare
The cut was the closest call in the class. Kaden Richard and Marias Version took the 20th spot at 659.75. Pepto Boons Bandit (Braxton Hughes, 659.24), Loyal Star Glo (Clyde Bolejack, 659.08) and WG Smooth Like Kate (Andy Holcomb, 659.04) finished 21st through 23rd.
Seventy-one hundredths of a point separated the last horse in from the third horse out.
Trevor Brazile and A Relentless Buzz. | TRJ File Photo
The finals field
Fendiii (Valiant Hero x PYC Paint Your Wagon), mare, 4, Miles Baker, 683.11
RR Gunners Affair (Gunners Special Nite x Major Vaquero), gelding, 6, Trevor Brazile, 680.76
Kynis Brookstone (Brookstone Bay x Winners Version), stallion, 6, Rhen Richard, 678.97
A Relentless Buzz (One Time Honor x Fishers Dash), gelding, 5, Trevor Brazile, 678.56