Jess You And I
6-Year-Old Gelding
(Feature Mr Jess - Gold Daze by Tolltac)

Qualified by winning the Remington Park Championship

Lifetime Record: 29-15-3-4, $1,590,471          2010 Record: 6-3-0-1, $250,935

If Jess You And I wins his second Champion of Champions in three years, the first place prize of $375,000 would push his career earnings to $1,965,471 and into fourth place in the all-time list of Quarter Horse earners. A victory by the veteran 6-year-old gelding would leave Jess You And I trailing only Stolis Winner, three-time Champion of Champions winner Refrigerator and 2007 Champion of Champions winner Blues Girl Too in the sport’s list of money winners. The fact that Jess You And I is one great race away from joining the elite of the elite in the racing is proof of the marvelous career that the son of Feature Mr Jess has enjoyed.

A member of the famed freshman class of 2006 that also included Blues Girl Too, FDD Dynasty and No Secrets Here (all millionaires), Jess You And I set a track record for a 2-year-old when he won at 300 yards in :15.17 in only his second career start. He would then win the Golden State Million Futurity over Blues Girl Too before running fourth in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity. At the age of four, Jess You And I won his first of two consecutive Go Man Go Handicaps and also outdueled champion Little Bit Of Baja to win the Champion of Champions in a track record time at 440 yards of :20.94. In doing so, he became the first horse to eclipse the :21 second mark for a quarter mile at Los Alamitos. His record still stands today. At the age of five in 2009, Jess You And I won the Los Alamitos Winter Championship and became the first horse to defend his Go Man Go crown in 40 years. – both Grade 1 races. Now at the venerable age of six, Jess You And I is back for a third straight appearance in the Champion of Champions after winning the Grade 1 $250,000 Remington Park Championship in Oklahoma. That victory helped make Jess You And I the 2010 Horse of the Meet at Remington Park.

Jess You And I added the Remington Park Championship to his triumph in the Grade 1 Bank of America Oklahoma Championship on May 9. Owned by the Double Bar S Ranch of Moreno Valley, Calif. and trained at Remington Park by Toby Keeton, Jess You And I had never competed away from Los Alamitos in southern California in his career before traveling to Oklahome City in the spring. He was ridden in both of his stakes wins here by Tad Leggett, who has since suffered a serious riding injury.

In 2009, Jess You And I became the first horse to defend his Go Man Go crown since Go Derussa Go did the trick in 1968 and ’69. A three-time AQHA Champion, Jess You And I is looking to join Tailor Fit as the only horses to win Champion of Champions in non-consecutive years. Tailor Fit accomplished the fit in 1999 and 2001.

"When we started working with him I never thought he would turn out to be this great of a horse,” said former Double Bar S Ranch manager Jerry Young. “He was a late baby and since we didn't think much of him he ended up missing all the early futurities that year. It was also when castrated him that he started showing us that he was special."

"When Jess You And I came to my barn I told my crew that he was probably the fastest baby in the barn," said Jaime Gomez, who trained Jess You And I from 2006 through the February of "Now I think he's one of the fastest horses that I've ever trained."

Jess You And I will have to overcome the fact that he has struggled in his last two starts. He finished seventh to Spit Curl Diva in the Refrigerator Handicap at Lone Star Park in Texas and fifth to Feature Jess Rockin in the Bank of America Challenge Championship at the Fair Grounds in Louisiana. After running in Louisiana, Jess You And I, Spit Curl Diva and Feature Jess Rockin all made their way to California via first class animal transportation plane. Upon his arrival, Jess You And I spent some time resting at Double Bar S Ranch before returning to the track for training during the first few days of December under the care of trainer Paul Jones.

The late Jens L. List, Jr. purchased 153 acres that is now Double Bar S Ranch in Moreno Valley, California in June of 1989. Jens passed away in November of 1996, but his wife Sharon and daughters Rhonda and Dawn stepped up to run Double Bar S Ranch. In 2000, horses bred by Jens L. List earned close to $1 million while finishing among the top three in the breeder standings in wins. The previous year, he bred earners of $1.24 million with his top money earner for 1999 being World Champion Tailor Fit. The Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association now honors the breeder on California Breeders Champions Night with the running of the Jens L List Jr Memorial California Breeders Stakes for 3-year-olds. The AQHA champion owners in 2006, Double Bar S Ranch was represented by champion Jess You And I and multiple stakes winner Tac It Like A Man, who currently stands at the Moreno Valley ranch. Double Bar S Ranch was the home of Strawfly Special, the 2001 Three Bars Award winner presented to California's outstanding stallion by the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association. Strawfly Special sired two-time World Champion Tailor Fit and All-American Futurity winners Streakin Flyer and Ausual Suspect before his passing.

Earlier this year, the List family announced plans to sell Double Bar S Ranch. The facility can accommodate 750 animals and usually carries an average animal population of 350 horses.