NCHA News

 

NCHA Futurity champion Dual Reyish and Austin Shepard scored 226.0 points to claim the Cotton Stakes 5/6-Classic Open championship on September 7, in West Monroe, La. It was the sixth Cotton Stakes Classic win for Shepard, who also claimed the Cotton Stakes Derby reserve championship on Dual Reyish in 2018.

Rollz Royce and Beau Galyean scored 223.0 to earn the reserve championship, while Austin Shepard and Bama Jelly placed third with 220.5 points. 

Owned by Billy Wolf of Whitesboro, Tex., and bred by Greg Smith, Mineral Wells, Tex., 6-year old Dual Reyish, by Hottish, is out of the Dual Rey daughter, A Little Reylena LTE $126,058, dam of 10 NCHA earners of $925,146, including Hay U LTE $200,245 and Rey To Sly LTE $103,208.

In addition to six Cotton Stakes Classic wins within 13 years, including two with the record score of 228 points (on Thomas E Hughes in 2008 and Bet Hesa Cat in 2011), Austin Shepard has won the Cotton Stakes 4-Year-Old Derby three times. Twice winner of the NCHA Open Futurity (High Brow CD in 2007and Dual Reyish in 2017), Shepard, the NCHA Hall of Fame earner of $8,338,882, also won the NCHA Open World championship in 2008, on High Brow CD.

 Owned by Thomas Guinn of Philadelphia, Miss., 6-year-old Rollz Royce LTE $313,996, by Dual Smart Rey, was bred by Royce Stalcup out of the High Brow Cat daughter Show Biz Kitty, who has produced four earners of $909,375, including, in addition to Rollz Royce, Badboonarising LTE $318,279; SS Blacks Lil Kitty LTE $187,137; and Show Biz Kit Kat LTE $89,963.        

Shown exclusively by Beau Galyean, Rollz Royce has won nine major limited age events and seven reserve championships, including the 2018 NCHA Super Stakes. In 2020, his wins have included the Cattlemen’s Classic, the NCHA Classic Challenge, and the Ike Hamilton Classic.

The NCHA Hall of Fame earner of $4,315,248, Beau Galyean’s wins include the NCHA Futurity, Breeders Invitational and Abilene Spectacular on leading sire Metallic Cat LTE $574,494.

Five-year-old Bama Jelly LTE $174,292, by Bamacat, is owned by her breeder Madalyn Colgrove, Boligee, Ala. , who showed Bama Jelly’s dam, Wood She Be Neat, as reserve champion of the 2014 Cotton Stakes 5/6-year-old Amateur Unltd.

Winner of the 2019 Arbuckle Mountain Derby and the 2019 Augusta 4-Year-Old Futurity, Bama Jelly and Austin Shepard also claimed the 2020 NCHA Eastern Nationals Open championship, while Colgrove showed him to place third in the 2020 Ike Hamilton Non-Pro Classic.

The 2020 Cotton Stakes continues through Sept. 13.

To read more from Sally Harrison, visit her blog at sallyharrison.com.