{"id":632,"date":"2006-09-05T00:57:43","date_gmt":"2006-09-04T17:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/?p=632"},"modified":"2006-09-05T00:57:43","modified_gmt":"2006-09-04T17:57:43","slug":"gun-battle-has-a-real-fighter-on-his-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/industry\/gun-battle-has-a-real-fighter-on-his-side\/","title":{"rendered":"Gun Battle Has A Real Fighter On His Side"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amarillo, Texas, September 1, 2006<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Del Rae Driggers would much rather talk about All American Futurity (G1) qualifier Gun Battle and her family\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s involvement in American Quarter Horse racing than about herself. Driggers races Gun Battle with her husband, Robert, who bred the New Mexico-bred son of Dash Ta Fame. Gun Battle enters the $1.9 million All American final on Labor Day as the second-fastest qualifier off a five-length victory in his trial on August 17.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It is so enjoyable to watch a horse that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve raised run down the racetrack like he does,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Driggers, who with her husband manages Mike Weatherly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Weatherly Horse Farm – Breeding Division in Anthony, New Mexico. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He just takes your breath away.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Yet, Driggers has her own remarkable tale of victory. A year ago, at the same time Gun Battle was scheduled to be sold at the Ruidoso Select Quarter Horse Yearling Sale, Driggers found a lump in her breast. Mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation followed.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was a long year, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been worth it,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n

Gun Battle went unsold in the Ruidoso sale, perhaps a sign that he wanted to help give Driggers an extra shot of encouragement in the coming year. The gelding now has five wins in seven starts, including Ruidoso\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Zia Futurity (RG1) on July 30, and earnings of $214,235. He will be one of the favorites in the All American.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s super to mess with; he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got a good mind,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said his trainer, Fred Danley. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153When he leaves (the starting gate), it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a straight shot. He tries to do everything right. He wants to be a racehorse.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Gun Battle is from the same family as the Driggerses\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 first All American Futurity starter, Major Rime, the fastest qualifier in 1994. The second dam of both Gun Battle and Major Rime is the Bunny Bid mare Ester\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Bunny, who is also the dam of two-time AQHA Champion Aged Stallion Six To Five. Ester\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Bunny is the first foal out of Esters Little Klu, a Thoroughbred the Driggerses bought in the mid-1980s.<\/p>\n

Gun Battle shares another connection to Major Rime. He will be ridden in the All American for the first time by Freddie Martinez, whose father-in-law, Bobby Harmon, rode Major Rime. Gun Battle will break from the two post, the same as Major Rime.<\/p>\n

The approximate post time for the All American Derby on Labor Day is 4:40 MDT. The race will be televised live on TVG and Fox regional networks.<\/p>\n

In addition, the American Quarter Horse Racing Journal<\/em> is providing daily updates of the contenders and their connections throughout All American week at \/aqharacing.com<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amarillo, Texas, September 1, 2006 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Del Rae Driggers would much rather talk about All American Futurity (G1) qualifier Gun Battle and her family\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s involvement in American Quarter Horse racing than about herself. Driggers races Gun Battle with her husband, Robert, who bred the New Mexico-bred son of Dash Ta Fame. Gun Battle enters the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aqha","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ebarrelracing.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}