Flashbacks Flashy & Fast
A surprise Valentine’s Day present turned out to be a Paint racing world champion in 1995. By TONYA RATLIFF-GARRISON
S
ue Beltz definitely didn’t expect a 2-year-old racehorse for Valentine’s Day in 1994. Her surprise didn’t come from the fact that her husband, Dale, bought her a racehorse— they had owned them since 1970. “What did surprise me was the filly’s color,” Sue told Jill
Prince in a March 1996 Paint Horse Journal article. “We had owned a couple of Paint riding horses that we really enjoyed having, but I never expected him to buy a Paint running horse.” The Kennewick, Washington, couple had been involved
with Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred racehorses since 1970, and had even been co-owners for a few years of a racetrack. However, they’d never campaigned a Paint racehorse. That all changed with Flashy Dash.
A sorrel overo Quarter
With jockey Roy Brooks in the irons, Flashy Dash won the 350-yard 1995 Lorelei Paint Derby in a time of :17.94.
Horse cropout, the filly was by Judge Cash, a stakes-winning racehorse by American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame inductee Dash For Cash. The bottom of her pedigree was just as distinguished. Although her dam, Blowin Bayou, had only won one of her eight starts as a racehorse, she was by premiere
sprinter Easy Jet, another American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame inductee.
Born with too much white to be registered by AQHA,
breeder Jim Carlson decided to sell the filly, and Dale saw Flashy Dash as a good investment. “Dale was impressed with the way Flashy Dash was
bred and the way she was put together,” Sue said. “Plus, he thought it would be fun to try our hand in Paint Horse racing.”
“I was at the right place at the right time when I found
Flashy Dash,” Dale added. “I think people who are interested in racing should take the chance and buy a Paint. Racing Paints offers owners a lot of opportunities.” With Lin Melton as her trainer, Flashy Dash won four of
six starts during her 2-year-old season, including the Teton Classic Paint and Appaloosa Futurity and the Western States Paint and Appaloosa Futurity. Her last two outs in 1994 were with Guy Hopkins. She won her trial heat for the Speedhorse
10 u MARCH 2013 u PAINT HORSE RACING
Paint and Appaloosa Sprint Futurity and finished fifth in the finals. For 1995, Flashy Dash went to Matt Whitekiller, at the time an associate of veteran Paint trainer Lewis Wartchow, who was training at Blue Ribbon Downs in Sallisaw, Okla- homa. Although Matt had trained horses with Lewis for several years, Flashy Dash would become the first that was solely his. “Jockey Roy Brooks called me and asked if I wanted a
good Paint to run,” Matt told Jill. “I remembered Flashy Dash because she outran Concho County, a colt I helped Lewis Wartchow with in 1994 in the trials of the Paint and Appy Speedhorse Sprint.” The filly’s first start of 1995 was the trials of the Lorelei
Derby at Blue Ribbon Downs. Flashy Dash’s first place finish in the April 28 race was the start of a nine-race winning streak. Included in her victories were the Lorelei Derby, the Okla- homa Paint Association Maturity, the Firecracker Handicap, the Oklahoma Horse Association Appaloosa and Paint Derby, and the Trail of Tears Handicap. Flashy Dash’s winning streak ended on October 8 when she finished fifth in the Lot of Color Maturity at Trinity Meadows. She also ran fifth in the APHA National Championship Series at Blue Ribbon Downs. Sue and Matt believed the placings in Flashy Dash’s last two races were due to fatigue. “She did have some problems in the fall, but she had run her
heart out all year long,” Sue said. Although Flashy Dash was turned out for a few months
to give her some much needed rest, the filly had still earned enough points to become the 1995 World Champion Paint Running Horse. Her 141 points were 34 higher than reserve champion Deep Native. “Last year was a fairy tale for us,” Sue said of the 1995 season. “Owning this filly has been the most fun we have ever had as racehorse owners.” Flashy Dash would finish her race career in August 1996, just before she was sold to Paint Horse breeder Dalene Knight of Redmond, Oregon. Flashy Dash’s lifetime earnings come to more than $57,000 with 18 wins, one second and three thirds out of 27 starts, a speed index of 100 and the 1996 titles for Champion Running Aged Horse and Mare as well as the 1994 title for Champion Running 2-Year-Old Filly. Not too shabby for a Valentine’s Day surprise.
Tonya Ratliff-Garrison is a contributing editor for Paint Horse Racing. To comment on this column, email
tonyag@apha.com.
APHA FILE PHOTO
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