Flashthechicks SI 102 World Champion Solid Paint-Bred Horse Champion Solid Paint-Bred 3-Year-Old • Champion Solid Paint-Bred 3-Year-Old Gelding
No.1 Honor Roll Solid Paint-Bred Gelding
2009 Sorrel Solid Gelding Royal Quick Flash x Game Chicken by Game Patriot (QH) Owner: Shirley Wheeler Breeder: Shirley Wheeler Trainer: Luis Villafranco Jockeys: Alex Baldillez, G.R. Carter
fter earning a World Championship as a 2-year-old, what can a horse do for an encore? In Flashthechicks’ case, he simply went out and won a second World Champion- ship, along with Champion Solid Paint-Bred 3-Year-Old and 3-Year-Old Gelding titles.
At the end of 2011, following his win in the Pot O’ Gold Futurity, Flashthechicks had surgery to remove chips in his knees. Sometimes horses never perform as good as before surgery, but it didn’t take long for Flashthechicks to start add- ing derby trophies to his futurity hardware.
“He came back pretty strong,” said Shirley Wheeler of Boynton, Oklahoma, who bred and races Flashthechicks. Shirley won championships with Flashthechicks’ half-sister, Imachickenkicker, as well and was the leading owner and breeder of the year. With champion jockey G.R. Carter Jr. in the saddle, Flashthechicks won both his trial and final of the PSBA American Paint Classic Derby at Remington Park by daylight as the favorite. Even when Runaway Argus challenged him from the rail in the final, Flashthechicks showed his courage to draw away and win by a half-length. Trainer Luis Villafranco couldn’t find another derby for Flashthechicks right away, and so the gelding met the best
older horses in the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum Stakes at Remington. It was his first try against his elders, and while Barney Ofield set a world record in winning, Flashthechicks ran a valiant third behind another older World Champion, PF Chief Runnin Bear. “We debated whether to put him in against older horses,” Shirley said. “But there wasn’t anywhere else to run him at the time, and he was no slouch.” Shirley’s husband, Jim, had to undergo emergency back sur- gery the morning of the June 30 Oklahoma Horsemen’s Asso- ciation Paint and Appaloosa Derby at Fair Meadows. Shirley would have skipped the race, but Jim insisted she go. She did and witnessed Flashthechicks adding another trophy to his collection, despite stumbling out of the gate. At Will Rogers Downs, Flashthechicks turned in a flawless performance to win the Green Country Handicap. “He got out of the gate good and ran a really good race that
day,” Shirley said. By season’s end, Flashthechicks had increased his lifetime bankroll to $273,539, which puts him second only to the great Got Country Grip. The Wheelers hope to keep running the gelding to see if they can topple that record—good news for those who enjoy seeing Flashthechicks on the racetrack.