Todd Fuqua
Alamogordo News
tfuqua@elritomedia.com

RUIDOSO DOWNS – After three horses were scratched from the Ruidoso Derby on June 7, the competitive field may have looked a bit easier for FDD Dreams. Starting from the No. 2 post position, the gelding was the 5-2 morning line favorite and when No. 1 Hardtokatch was withdrawn, FDD Dreams inherited sole claim to the rail and a clear path to the finish line.

But trainer Xavier Rodriguez said he would have preferred seeing his horse leave the starting gate with rivals on both sides in the near-$800,000 race.

“It’s like I’ve been telling everybody, he’s just an athlete, and he’s always been an honest horse,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like he needs somebody right next to him to push him.”

All he needed this time was jockey Luis Martinez in the saddle. FDD Dreams broke running from the gate and sprinted the Derby’s 400-yard distance in 19.6 seconds to finish more than a length in front of stablemate Little Vaquero.

FDD Dreams paid $3 to win on a $2 bet, while Little Vaquero paid $5 to place.

The inside path was not a hindrance for FDD Dreams even though the outer portion of the track proved beneficial for horses in other races, including Holy Pete, who won the $100,000 Ruidoso Invitational from an outside post.

“Wherever you put him (FDD Dreams), he’s going to give it his all,” Rodriguez said. “That’s the way he is in every single race.”

The Derby was FDD Dreams’ second outing of his 3-year-old campaign and second win, following an easy victory in his Derby trial on May 25. The Rodriguez-trained, La Feliz Montana Ranch-owned speedball now has six lifetime victories.

Rodriguez sees no reason why FDD Dreams can’t continue his winning ways at a longer distance.

“He’s not had one at 440 yards yet, but he ran two very bright races,” Rodriguez said. “If he keeps running the way he has, I think he’ll be right there at 440. From the first, he had no pressure. He ran very well and I think he could use the extra yards.”

Todd Fuqua is Assistant Editor for the Alamogordo News and can be reached on Instagram at @toadfox1.