Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeder Association

News - Racing April 19, 2024

Sleepers Best Corona Holds In Esplanade Stakes

Sleepers Best Corona, 5, ridden by jockey Martin Rubalcava, beats Zoomin Baby, 9, to the wire to win the Esplanade Stakes at the Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots in New Orleans on Friday.

Alexander Barkoff / Hodges Photography

NEW ORLEANS, LA—AUGUST 28, 2015—Making his first start since winning the Miss Polly Classic Stakes(G3) in June, Sleepers Best Corona held off Zoomin Baby by a neck to win the $40,000 Esplanade Stakes Friday afternoon at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans.

Zoomin Baby lugged in under jockey John Hamilton and was disqualified and placed 8th for interference. Ld Streakin N Leavin was moved to second and the Eagle Express to the show position following the disqualification.

Ridden by Martin Rubalcava, Sleepers Best Corona completed the 350 yards in :17.398 seconds to record a 98-speed index into a 6 mph headwind. The $18,000 winner's purse swelled the 4-year-old's earnings to $116,635.

Carlos Saldivar conditions the son of multiple stakes sire Coronas Prospect for owner Frank Benson. Southern Rose Ranch bred the gelding in Oklahoma from the Strawfly Special mare Call Me The Sleeper. His record stands at (13) 7-2-2.

Ld Streakin N Leaving picked up $8,000 for second place. Manuel Macias trains the Coronas Leaving You gelding for owner Jose Barron. Louis Dreyer bred the 4-year-old in Louisiana from the Streakin La Jolla mare Streakin Juanita. Antonio Alberto was riding.

The Eagle Express races for owner Mary Lynne Thompson and trainer Larry Kopycinski. Alfonso Lujan rode the One Famous Eagle gelding out of Rustys Quickid, by Royal Quick Dash. Bred in Texas by Clyde Wilmott, The Eagle Express earned $3,300.

Bradys March Madness, Rusty Bloom, Feature My News and The Lizzard King completed the field. Heza Fast Rogue and Runaway Canyon were both scratched.

LQHBA is the official authorized representative of the American Quarter Horse racing and breeding industry in Louisiana, the unified voice of quarter Horse breedings in the State of Louisiana for purposes of communicatting the advantages and rewards of breeding Quarter Horses in the State and for the purposes of a conducting and coordinating activities with breeding and racing agencies.