By T. D. Thornton
Six Ninety One (Congrats), currently North America's winningest Thoroughbred with nine victories in 2021, won an 870-yard Quarter Horse race by a nose Tuesday at Arizona Downs.
“The victory doesn't count toward the 9-year-old gelding's lead as the winningest Thoroughbred, though. Equibase separately ranks Quarter Horse races in their own category.
But Six Ninety One still has a two-win cushion over four other Thoroughbreds tied with seven victories apiece.
Either way, 10 total mixed-meet victories through nearly seven months of racing is a pretty noteworthy achievement.
In all of 2020, four horses tied with eight victories apiece to lead the continent. In 2019, seven horses shared the year-end honor with nine wins. Over the last decade, the number of most annual victories has ranged between eight and 12.
Six Ninety One's July 20 score came in an $8,000 allowance dash under jockey Keivan Serrano as the 7-5 favorite. Trainer Alfredo Asprino owns the gelding in partnership with Jesus Vielma. His winning time of :44.97 was just one-hundredth of a second faster than the runner-up.
Six Ninety One was bred in Kentucky by Edwin and Melissa Anthony. He sold for $75,000 at KEESEP in 2013, then hammered for $59,000 at OBSOPN eight months later.
A speed specialist in abbreviated sprints, Six Ninety One previously won two other races against Quarter Horses in 870-yard dashes during the 2019 season.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
