Can Tac It Like A Man and Checknbac possibly finish in another deadheat? The two hit the wire in unison in the Governor's Cup Futurity on July 29 and then finished only 1/100ths of a second apart in the trials to the $450,000 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity. Trained by Jaime Gomez, Tac It Like A Man and Checknbac are now the horses to beat in the richest running ever of the Breeders Futurity.

Tac It Like A Man and Checknbac

            J.R. Ramirez, who guided Tac It Like A Man in the Governor's Cup Futurity, has opted to ride Checknbac in the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity. "I just hope I made the right decision going with Checknbac," Ramirez said with a smile. "It should be another tight race."

            Sired by Check Him Out out of Grade 1 winner Running Bac, Checknbac has won her last five starts, including an impressive victory in her futurity trial. That raced proved to the most productive of the night, as it also featured qualifiers Sabrinas Eyes, Corona Deluxe and Corona Couture. Afterwards, Gomez did his best to zip Checknbac in and out of the winner's circle. "She's a very nervous filly," Gomez explained.

            "There was a nice group of people in the winner's circle and I was nervous that she would jump on them. That's just how she is, always antsy.

            "She's fast but she's tiny," Gomez said. "She's one of the smallest horses in my barn. It looked like she slipped a little bit at the start of (her trial) but she was flying at the end."

            Double Bar S Ranch's homebred Tac It Like A Man continued his terrific form by posting a half-length victory over Governor's Cup finalist Choosy, who also qualified to this race.  Tac It Like A Man has now won three races in a row. "There's not much that separates the two," added Gomez referring to Tac It Like A Man and Checknbac. "We're talking about two tough horses."

            Checknbac impressed observers by making up a lot of ground in her trial but Tac It Like A Man had to overcome a mistake when he raced from post one in the trials. "He went in right at the gap," Gomez said. "We had given him a breeze prior to these trials and he did the same thing. He is such a powerful horse that he was able to overcome it and still win with a fast time. He's a 'caballaso.' " 

            Caballaso is Spanish slang for 'super horse' and this First Down Dash colt is living up to the moniker. "He acts like a colt," added the trainer. "He has a lot of fire, he's very studdy. He's just something else right now."       

            Gomez will also saddle Corona Couture and Check This Runner. Dutch Masters III's Check This Runner could be one of the late threats in the final. The runner-up in the Kindergarten Futurity, Check This Runner covered the final 220 yards in :09.49, just 3/100ths of a second shy of the final fraction posted by top qualifier Tac It Like A Man.

            "Check This Runner has a hard time in the first three jumps of a race," Gomez explained. "He never gets going until he gets 25 or 30 yards into a race. He gets cooking only after he gets past that point. He is so big and he has such a big stride that he needs a little time to get going."   

            Trainer Paul Jones, meanwhile, will send out Corona Deluxe, Sabrinas Eyes, Coronas Rouge and Choosy. Pat Visscher will saddle Ladies Boots, while Scott Willoughby trains Future Father.  "My horse can leave the gate," Willoughby said. "He also showed a nice kick at the end of his trial."

            Ladies Boots could be the surprise package here but she is using a flipping halter when she starts from post one.

            "She was very antsy and we had to try something," Visscher said. "She threw Dennis Means off of her (on June 8) and she did the same thing to J.R. Ramirez (on August 11). What I like is that she's doing great and she's eating everything in her bucket. She's very happy right now."

            What a year it has been for Visscher. The trainer is winning at a 30% clip, highlighted by a win in the La Primera Del Ano Derby.

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