Double whammy

The Rocky Mountain Spring Classic races heralded momentous firsts for two horses that have overcome serious accidents during their young lives. Pocatello Downs in Pocatello, Idaho, hosted the Rocky Mountain Spring Classic Futurity and Derby May 31, 2008. Appaloosas and Paints compete in both and Appaloosas carried the day.

Reviving results

Owner-breeder Holly Morrison of Boise, Idaho, won the derby with Badons Corona Extra, both her first Appaloosa and her first racehorse. She’d hoped to win the 2007 futurity with the gelding, but during the post parade he fell after jumping a rail and landed on his back.

CMB Ima Legacy Too nearly missed this year’s futurity because in her trial she was knocked sideways and stepped on, resulting in a 2-inch gash in a hind ankle. She healed well enough not only to compete in the final, but to win, giving her trio of owners—Shay Moon, Mike Clements and Jimmy Blair—their first chance to see one of their horses win a big race in person. “They were screaming and yelling and having a great time,” says Holly, who was pretty excited herself.

Back stretch story

Three-year-old Badons Corona Extra is by Dale Badon (AQHA) and out of LDS Somkinda Sunset. Two-year-old filly CMB Ima Legacy Too is by leading stallion Geneo JJ and out of Key Legacy, making her a full sister to 2007 racing medallion winner CMB A Legacy.

Badons Corona Extra also won a racing medallion as a 2-year-old in 2007, a feat that seemed impossible after last year’s Rocky Mountain Futurity. Badons Corona Extra qualified for the race with an impressive 1 3/4-length trial victory in the first race of his life. Then came the fiasco before the final.

“In the post parade, he was feeling good and got ahead of the pony horse,” Holly says. When Badons Corona Extra somersaulted and landed on his back while trying to jump the rail, Holly thought he’d killed himself. That he not only survived, but was able to continue racing well enough last year to win a medallion amazed everyone.

Holly raises horses with her father and brother, Don and Dan Kendall. She and her husband, Gordon, have two daughters. The family lives on an acre of land in Boise, where Holly occasionally lays up a horse. Don and Dan run the 20-acre family farm in Pocatello, and the family races under the name of Kendall Racing Stables.

Some four years ago, Holly, Don and Dan bought stallion prospect Dale Badon (AQHA) sight unseen from noted Quarter Horse racing trainer Blane Schvaneveldt. The horse placed in several graded stakes and earned $53,544 on the racetrack.

“Blane had him in a sale in California,” Holly says. “But the horse had an abscess and Blane pulled him out of the auction. We were so happy when we got him because he’s such a beautiful horse.”
Holly has volunteered with the Idaho Appaloosa Racing Association, which led her to want an Appaloosa racehorse of her own. She was able to lease LDS Somkinda Sunset from Donna King, getting Badons Corona Extra in the stallion’s first crop.

Bobby Price conditions Badons Corona Extra, and he’s found the secret to the gelding’s racing ability. With Judd Rasmussen riding, Badons Corona Extra has won four of five races, though he’s lost three races with other jockeys aboard. “He likes his jockey,” Holly says.

Reunited with Judd for the 350-yard Rocky Mountain Spring Classic Derby, Badons Corona Extra defeated Royal Quick Honors by a neck in 17.939 seconds for a speed index of 93.

See her, too

Two races later, it was CMB Ima Legacy Too’s turn. She hails from CMB Don Keys Racing Stables owned by Shay, Mike and Jimmy, who formed the stable over drinks (see the September 2007 Journal for their story).

The threesome liked CMB A Legacy so much that they bought his dam from breeder Bosen Land & Livestock while she was carrying CMB Ima Legacy Too. “We bought the mare mainly for this baby,” Shay says.

Once CMB Ima Legacy Too arrived in April 2006, Mike and Jimmy liked her more than Shay did. “She’s calm compared to CMB A Legacy, and I was concerned that she wasn’t as good,” Shay says.

Temperament didn’t matter. CMB Ima Legacy Too is proving herself every bit as good a racehorse as her brother. Third in her first race while gaining racing experience, she finished fifth in her futurity trial after suffering the ankle injury. “It was amazing that she still qualified,” Shay says.

She returned for the 330-yard futurity ready to tackle nine rivals, winning by three-quarters of a length in 17.312 seconds for an 88 speed index. Paul Greene rode her, while his brother, Casey, trained her. “Paul touched her one time with his whip,” Shay says, “and she did the rest all on her own.”

By Tracy Gantz