(October 28, 2006) - Dont Let Down showed that his third in the All American Futurity was no fluke and powered home to beat First Freeze by a half-length in the $426,375 Dash For Cash Futurity – one of two Grade 1 stakes events run before a crowd of 4,822 on Saturday night at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas. Earlier, Hall of Fame trainer Jack Brooks bagged his fourth Dash For Cash Derby when Ima Ramblin Girl prevailed by a half-length over Adrians Jolla.

Dont Let Down, ridden by Juan Vazquez and carrying 124 pounds, ran 400 yards in :19.713 and paid $3.20, $2.80 and $2.60 as the odds-on 3-5 favorite in the field of 10 two-year-old Quarter Horses. He became the first favorite to win the Futurity in nine runnings of the race. First Freeze returned $4.20 and $4. Jetin Chablis was another half-length back in third and paid $3.60.

The win was the fifth in nine lifetime starts for the John Buchanan trainee, and was worth $170,550 for owner/breeder Bobby Cox, the Peaster, Texas resident who’s the chairman of Schlotzsky’s restaurants. The 2-year-old Stoli gelding’s career bankroll now stands at $384,757.

“He’s just a natural 400-440 yard horse,” Buchanan said. “He can run the other distances, but it’s just easier for him to run this distance. He handled Ruidoso, but he likes Texas better. He likes more oxygen.”

Prior to the Dash For Cash, Dont Let Down finished third behind No Secrets Here and Gun Battle in the prestigious Grade 1, $1.9 million All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs on Labor Day. In June, the gelded son of Stoli was third in the Grade 1 Heritage Place Futurity.

“In the Heritage Place, he stumbled a little bit, came back and ran third,” Vazquez said. “He had a good chance to win the All American but he had a little trouble. He got a little bump and finally he had it to win this one. He’s a hell of a baby with too much talent and I think he deserved to win a Grade 1.”

Said Cox: “After I bought Invisible Injun, I had to have some of his offspring to run so I bought a couple in the All American. His mother happed to be one of them. She ran pretty well for us and this was her first baby. The ‘Don’t Let Down’ came from in business (the saying) “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” It’s been a tough road here and I’ve been trying to win this thing for like 20 years so it’s a great win and it’s great to be here.”

This was the second Dash For Cash Futurity for Buchanan and Vazquez, who won the 2000 renewal with Joshua Harner’s Pivotal Decision.

In the $193,300 Derby, Ima Ramblin Girl, a half-sister to multiple Grade 1-winner Heza Ramblin Man, zipped 440 yards in :21.590 and returned $8.40, $4 and $3.40 as the mild 3-1 choice. The victory was worth $77,320 to owners Pat and Walt Fletcher of Lakin, Kansas.

“We’ve qualified for a bunch of them,” Brooks said, referring to the Derby. “These Derbies get so tough. She ran a big race tonight. She warmed up perfect.”

Said Carter: “Jack and Raymond Vargus, Jack’s assistant, have done a phenomenal job. They had this filly really sitting on big race tonight. She warmed up phenomenal. I could tell she really had her mind on racing tonight. She left the gate and went to the other end and made my job real easy. She sensed that other horse coming up to her on the inside and she just pinned her ears and gutted it out. It was a really gutsy performance. I rode this filly’s brother, Heza Ramblin Man, to most all of the victories in his career. He had a big heart and finished really strong on a race and wasn’t a big breaker. This filly is just the opposite. She’s a big breaker and wins her races on the front end.”

Brooks and Carter also teamed to win the $47,375 Dash For Cash Juvenile with Valiant Hero, a First Down Dash gelding who ran 400 yards in :19.78 to beat Sixes Split Pea by a neck.

Both winners of the Dash For Cash Futurity and Derby were the fastest qualifiers in trial races held two weeks ago.

DOWN THE STRETCH –

Live racing returns to Lone Star Park on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. CT with a nine-race program . . .

Lone Star Park will open its Grandstand and Post Time Pavilion at 9:30 a.m. next Saturday for simulcast wagering on the Breeders’ Cup World Championships from Churchill Downs. The first race from Churchill Downs that morning is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. CT, and the first Breeders’ Cup (Race 3) is set for 11:30 a.m. CT

Lone Star Park will offer Drive Thru Wagering off Gate 2 that day from 8 a.m. until post time of the Breeders’ Cup Classic (4:20 p.m. CT). A 12-race live program featuring three stakes events – the $65,800 Lone Star Paint & Appaloosa Futurity (2-year-old Paint & Appaloosas at 350 yards); the $10,000-added Olympia Joe Paint & Appaloosa Handicap (Paint & Appaloosas at 400 yards); and $15,000 Grand Prairie Classic (3-year-olds at 870 yards) – will follow the Breeders’ Cup simulcast at 5 p.m. CT . . .

Also, Lone Star Park will offer advance wagering on the entire Breeders’ Cup card from Churchill Downs all day on Friday, Nov. 3 starting at 9:20 a.m.