Irenes Choice, the fifth-fastest qualifier to this Saturday's Grade I Kindergarten Futurity, looks as sharp as ever according to her connections on Tuesday morning.  Owned by Felipe Quintero Jr. and his father Felipe of F/F Racing Stables, Irenes Choice ran a very close second in her trial on Saturday May 3rd behind the previously unstarted Sixish.  Despite being outfinished by a nose, Irenes Choice's time of 15.470 at the 300-yard distance was good enough for one of ten qualifying spots in this Saturday's rich $340,150 race.

            One of three finalists by freshman sire A Regal Choice, Irenes Choice was purchased privately for $12,000 from veteran breeder Steve Burns.  "My dad deserves all of the credit for picking this horse out," said Felipe.  "He really liked her confirmation from the start and is actually the one who picked her out originally.  From what I've seen so far of the A Regal Choices, they look really impressive.  Three of them qualified to the finals, so you couldn't ask for much better than that."

            Irenes Choice made her debut on April 13, 2008 for trainer Hector Jaime Hernandez, running a well-beaten second behind the highly touted gelding Show Me A Beduino.  "We weren't going to get to the winner that night, but we were clearly second best," added Felipe.  "Just getting that race in her made all of the difference.  Lots of times horses will run really green in their first start and you don't want to take the chance of that happening on trial night.  Plus, it gives them three weeks in between races and sets them up really well for the trials." 

            Equipped with front wraps and the medication lasix for the first time, Irenes Choice made the lead early in the race, but was caught in the final strides by Jaime Gomez's talented gelding Sixish.  "I was really impressed with that race," said Quintero.  "To be honest I was a little concerned about seeing her in front wraps in only her second race, but Hector told me he just added them as a precaution.  Knowing that made me feel a lot better about it."

            For the Quinteros, Irenes Choice has been something of a welcome back gift to the sport of Quarter Horse racing.  Until recently, the father and son duo had been out of racing and were focused instead on the restaurant business together.  "I was the manager and bookkeeper of El Tapatio Mexican Grill along with my dad," said Felipe.  "The restaurant industry is really hard work.  In some ways horse racing is easier and it's a lot more fun for me because this is what I love to do.  Racing is my passion.  So my dad decided to sell the restaurant to my uncle, who now runs it, and we started focusing on racing again. It feels good to be back." 

            On May 4th, the day after Irenes Choice qualified to the prestigious Kindergarten Futurity, the Quinteros won their first race together since returning to the sport in race four with a three-year-old filly named Late Hit, rounding out a very nice weekend for the team.

            F/F Racing Stables has four two-year-olds all together, including two horses that have yet to start.  One such a runner is A Regal Legacy, another filly by freshman sire A Regal Choice.  Out of the Merridoc mare Swiftette, A Regal Legacy is a half-sister to Independence Day Handicap winner Commander Corona and the classy mare Corona Crystal, who ran second in the Grade I Charger Bar Handicap in 2007.  "We expect pretty good things from her," Quintero commented.  "I also thought one of our colts named A King Cobra looked promising in his first start.  He could be another one to watch for later this year."

            Felipe, who had a brief stint as a trainer several years ago, is still a licensed to train in the state of California and has assisted Hector Jaime Hernandez in the conditioning of Irenes Choice from the very start. 

            With the finals to the Kindergarten Futurity coming up this coming Saturday, F/F Racing Stable has a lot to be excited about.  "Right now I'm just thrilled to have qualified to the Kindergarten," said Felipe.  "This is probably the best achievement for my dad and I in horse racing so far.  Everything is looking really good right now.  Plus, our filly came back great from the trials.  She's sound, happy, and ready to run.  I think Tres Passes and Revv It Up are going to be pretty tough in the finals, but it looks pretty wide open to me.  When you look at it, their final times weren't all that much faster that ours really.  I think it's anyone's race."