Dr Sueish LTE $135,490, a Hottish gelding shown by Kenny Platt for Robert Tregemba, Castle Rock, Colo., scored 229 points to win the 2021 NCHA Kit Kat Sugar 5-Year-Old Open championship and the $49,000 winner’s purse. Sugarlesss LTE $81,026, a Kit Kat Sugar gelding owned and bred by Russ and Janet Westfall, Granbury, Tex., scored 223 points under Russ for the reserve championship and $42,923. Pink Metallic LTE $52,555, a Metallic Cat daughter ridden by RL Chartier for Anderson Cattle Co., Victoria, Tex., posted 222 points for third place and $36,845.
On the first day, March 25, of the 2021 NCHA Super Stakes, Dr Sueish posted 223 points to tie with the high qualifying score going into the second go-round. He then qualified for the Semi-Finals with the top cumulative score of 442.5 points, and the rest is history.
Dr Sueish’s score ranks second among those earned by other 5/6-Year-Old champions in the 34-year history of the NCHA Super Stakes Classic. Stevie Rey Von, ridden by Beau Galyean in 2018, owns the high score of 231 points, while Metallic Rebel, shown by Galyean in 2017, and Dr Sueish are tied with 229.
Platt and Dr Sueish missed qualifying for both the 2019 NCHA Futurity and the 2020 NCHA Derby by one-half of a point in the Semi-Finals. But they went on to place fifth in the 2020 Arbuckle Mountain Derby and the 2020 Brazos Bash, and last month, they claimed third in the 2021 Cattlemen’s Classic.
Bred by Bambi Gress, Ennis, Mont, Dr Sueish is the first money earner out of the WR This Cats Smart daughter Sues So Smart LTE $113,652, a half-sister to Boon Too Suen LTE $250,368, among the earners of over $1.5 million out of Meradas Little Sue LTE $670,098, by Freckles Merada.
Kenny Platt, the NCHA Hall of Fame earner of $1.9 million, won the 2016 NCHA Super Stakes and the 2016 NCHA Derby with 228 points on Moms Stylish Player LTE $411,889. He also showed the Lizzys Gotta Player gelding, owned by Robert Tregemba, to placed second in the 2019 NCHA Open World standings.
Russ and Janet Westfall will each will take reserve champion trophies home from the Super Stakes, thanks to Sugarlesss. In addition to his performance with Russ in the 5-Year-Old Open, he carried Janet to claim reserve in the Intermediate Non-Pro Finals on Thursday April 8.
Sugarlesss was bred by the Westfalls out of Lil Bit Reckless LTE $231,124, by CD Royal LTE $158,357. Janet showed CD Royal as reserve champion of the 2000 NCHA Non-Pro Futurity and to place fifth in the 2001 NCHA Non-Pro Super Stakes.
This is the third NCHA Super Stakes Open reserve championship for Russ Westfall, the NCHA Hall of Fame earner of $3,466,743. He also claimed reserve with Jeeps Posi Action LTE $332,058, in 2004, and with Smart Like Dusty LTE $174,024, in 2001.
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