Give Budderhomesngarden her flowers after the 4-year-old mare owned and bred by Double Bar S Ranch broke sharply from post number one and held off a strong field of fillies and mares to score an upset win the Grade 2, $75,000 Abigal Kawananakoa Stakes on Saturday night at Los Alamitos.
The Brazilian star Miss Isao JQM was the 1-2 favorite in the Abigail, but the multiple stakes winner was bumped at the start and was far behind the leaders at the start of the 350-yard race. Meanwhile, the 22-1 longshot Budderhomesngarden took the lead shortly after the start, opened a ½ length lead at the midway point and never looked back while scoring her first stakes win as she finished a neck in front of Ed Allred’s In The Mode. Miss Isao JQM was a big time run in the second half of the race to grab third place.
Ridden by Cesar Franco for trainer Elena Andrade, Budderhomesngarden provided her owners a beautiful new trophy to decorate their home as she also earned $41,250 for the win. Sired by the legendary First Down Dash and out of the Grade 3 Northwest Juvenile Challenge winner Budderfly Effect, the Oklahoma bred was picking up her sixth win from 19 starts while taking her career earnings to $99,283.
“Her specialty is definitely 110 yards because she’s close to the ground and not very big but she’s all heart,” Andrade said. “I was a little nervous getting the one hole, but Cesar knows this filly. He said don’t worry, we are going to be fine. She’s quick away from the gate and if we can get away from the gate hopefully, we can just coast home as far as we can get in front. That’s how it played out. She didn’t give an inch. I’ve kept her at shorter distance but we had run out of options lately, so we just went for it. She proved herself tonight.”
Budderhomesngarden was a four-time allowance winner coming into this race, but she had previously finished second in the Justanold Love Stakes last year and third in this year’s Dashingly Handicap to Miss Isao JQM. As for Double Bar S Ranch, one of California’s greatest owners and breeders of Quarter Horses, Budderhomesngarden is the second top stakes winner in California they’ve bred in the past few years. Last year, Gary Laramie’s Jessica Cruz represented them well in many stakes events.
“It’s super exciting,” Andrade said. “(Dawn and Rhonda List of Double Bar S Ranch) have been so supportive over the years and I have quite a few horses of theirs over the years. They’ve all need a little extra attention. They are special, little bit of attitude, but I like that in horses, just trying to figure out what works for them.”
Budderhomesngarden covered the distance in :17.634.
Ridden by Ricardo Ramirez for trainer Scott Willougby, In The Mode earned $16,875 for running second. This was her first start since running in last year’s A Ransom Handicap against males. Pedro Barbizan Santiago Leite’s Miss Isao JQM earned $9,375 for running third, while Allred’s Call Her Perfect ran fourth. They were followed by La Famosa Vaquera, Temple Court, VGK Zigfield Follies, Beach Walk, One Sweet Duck and Chicka Boom Babe.
