SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022) – Extermynator and Jockey German Rodriguez eliminated the competition in the regional final of the $48,994-added John Deere Juvenile Challenge at Horseshoe Indianapolis Thursday, Sept. 22. The pair have now secured a spot in the Grade 2 $125,000-est. Final during AQHA Challenge Championships set for Sat. Oct. 22 at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
Starting from post three, Extermynator came out of the gates in a flash and was on top of the field of eight in the 350-yard dash. Time for a Hero and Cristian Reyes, the fastest from the trials, put pressure on the leader from the inside while Jettin Jetta and L.D. Martinez were applying pressure on the outside. The trio of horses charged down the track and finished right together in a photo, but Extermynator had the advantage he needed to secure the win by a neck over Time For a Hero, who was disqualified from second to sixth place. Jettin Jetta moved up into second while He’s Legendary and Erik Esqueda moved into third in the four-horse photo.
Extermynator paid $3.20 for the win. It was his fourth win in five starts this year for Owner Gordon Timm and Trainer Randy Smith, who were both absent from the winner’s circle as they were at the Heritage Place September Yearling Sale in Oklahoma. Timm and Smith purchased Extermynator last year for $55,000 from the Heritage Place Sale, which now makes him eligible for the special $15,000 bonus awarded to the highest placing finisher in the John Deere Juvenile Challenge Final on Oct. 22.
“We didn’t even know about the bonus at the time we bought him,” said Timm and Smith via telephone following the win. “We just really liked the way this colt was built and his breeding.”
Extermynator improved his bankroll to more than $123,000 with the win. The son of Tres Seis bred by Bobby Cox out of Texas is now a two-time stakes winner adding the John Deere Juvenile Regional Challenge to his win in the $145,000 Heartland Futurity this season with Rodriguez also aboard for that win. The brown gelding was ranked third on the list of qualifiers from the trials for the John Deere Juvenile Regional Challenge Final.
“He gives it his all every morning,” said Rodriguez, who works for Smith. “He breaks well. He’s always in front, and he always has his ears forward.”
Eight of the 10 regional challenge races have now been completed. Other entrants with a spot in the final, with the track they qualified at, include Apollitical Dynamite (Sam Houston), Southwesterly (Arizona Downs), Sizzling Wagon (Evergreen Park), Chicks First Flash (Los Alamitos), Kool N Foxy (Prairie Meadows), One Perfect Lady (Ruidoso Downs), and Bee a Freight Train (Emerald Downs). There are two regional qualifiers left, one at Pocatello Downs Saturday, Sept. 24 and one at Will Rogers Downs Sunday, Oct. 2.
Photos by Coady Photography
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