Amarillo, Texas, August 28, 2006  The field of finalists in the 2006 All American Futurity (G1) spans a range of horses from homebreds to top sale yearlings, and the list of breeders is just as diverse.

Perennial top breeder Vessels Stallion Farm bred fastest qualifier No Secrets Here (First Down Dash  Dicey Secret by Raise A Secret) and still owns the colt with partner Benny Rosset of Sao Paulo, Brazil. A two-time winner in five outs, the colt has earned $140,265.

Vessels Stallion Farm also bred fifth-fastest qualifier Separate Bet (Separatist – Better Bet On Me by First Down Dash) and ninth-fastest My First Passion (First Down Dash – My Strawberry Chick by Chicks Beduino).

Separate Bet sold for $80,000 at the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale in 2005 and now races for the Oklahoma-based partnership of Jimmy Harrel, Duane Harrel, David Barrett and Joann Adams.

My First Passion, bred by Vessels in partnership with Martha “Mimi”  Wells of Orange, California, was purchased by Jose Cantu of Rio Grande City, Texas, in May in a private transaction. Winner of the July 2 Firecracker Futurity (G2), the gray colt has a record of 1-2-1 in four starts and earnings of $122,058.

Bobby D. Cox of Peaster, Texas, is listed as breeder on more than one finalist as well. Fourth-fastest qualifier Genuine Botticelli (Special Task Genuine Reward by First Down Dash) and sixth-fastest Dont Let Down (Stoli  Babe On The Beach by Invisible Injun) are both homebreds campaigned by Cox.

Another homebred causing quite a stir in the 2-year-old ranks this year is Robert and Del Rae Driggers Gun Battle (Dash Ta Fame  On A Bunny by On A High) who has already earned blacktype with a half-length victory in the Zia Futurity (RG1) on July 30. The Driggers consigned the gelding to the 2005 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale but repurchased him for $10,000. Since then, he has won five of seven starts and earned $214,235 on the road to the All American Futurity.

Also a repurchase, this time for $25,000 from the 2005 Ruidoso New Mexico-Bred Sale, is third-fastest qualifier Mightys First Call. Bred and owned by Richard Shearer of Portales, New Mexico, the filly has won three of eight outs, earned $80,973, and is one of only two females in the field of qualifiers.

The other filly, Remember Me Rose (Corona Cartel  Im Moonlighting by Zevi (TB)) was bred by the late Dr. Max Alumbaugh and wife Linda’s MLA International Company of Stigler, Oklahoma.

Remember Me Rose, who has won three times and placed second twice in five starts, earning $123,831, has already secured a berth to the 2006 MBNA America Challenge Championships with a stakes victory in the Ford Mexico Juvenile Challenge. A $73,000 purchase at the 2005 Schvaneveldt Andreini Sale, the filly races for owners Azoom LP, the Veracruz, Mexico, partnership of Enrique Carrion and Alejandro Barradas Lagunes.

Ninth-fastest qualifier First Freeze (First Down Dash Streakin Snowlady by Mr Jess Perry) was purchased at the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale for $120,000, the highest price paid for any 2006 All American Futurity finalist.

Bred by South Gate, California’s Shultz Ranch, an AQHA 30-consecutive-year breeder, First Freeze is a full-brother to last year’s fifth-place finisher in the All American Futurity, Shesnowlady. Dam of both, Streakin Snowlady, is two-for-two in producing All American Futurity finalists.

Rounding out the 10-horse field is highly-favored Okey Dokey Fantasy (Okey Dokey Dale – Fontanas Fantasy by Lazbuddie) the highest-earning finalist with a bankroll of $440,768 and a spotless record of eight wins in eight tries. With victories in the Longhorn Futurity (G2), the Manor Downs Futurity (G1) and a deadheat score in the Ruidoso Futurity (G1), the colt leads the nation in races won and ranks second in earnings.

Visit aqha.com for daily updates throughout All American week in Ruidoso. Coverage of the race is brought to you by /The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal. /Read the complete story of the 2006 All American winner in the October issue.