Roy Cobb’s homebred Mr Money Bags will be crowned as the 2019 Texas Horse of the Year at the Texas Thoroughbred Association’s annual meeting and awards banquet on March 21 at Sam Houston Race Park. The night will also celebrate divisional Texas-bred champions with awards based on points earned in stakes performances during the year.
Sired by Silver City, who formerly stood at Valor Farm in Pilot Point, Texas, Mr Money Bags had a tremendous 3-year-old campaign in 2019 with six wins from nine starts and earnings of $328,470. The gelding was undefeated in his home state, winning a division of the Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes Series and the Groovy Stakes at Sam Houston and another division of the Texas Stallion Stakes at Lone Star Park. The Mike Neatherlin trainee also proved himself against open company with two stakes wins at Zia Park, highlighted by a victory in the $250,000 Zia Park Derby. Mr Money Bags also earned the award for Texas Champion 3-Year-Old Colt/Gelding. The Texas-bred kicked off his 2020 campaign over the weekend with a dominating victory in the $75,000 Stonerside Sprint at Sam Houston.
As the leading Texas-bred money earner for the year, Mr Money Bags earned his breeder Roy Cobb the BloodHorse Breeder of the Year Award. Texas-bred Miss Photogenic, a two-time stakes winner on the track, earned the Texas Broodmare of the Year Award as the dam of Mr Money Bags.
Valor Farm, with a stallion roster that includes the state’s leading sire Too Much Bling, will be honored as the leading Accredited Texas-Bred money earner for 2019.
The human awards—the T.I. “Pops” Harkins Award for lifetime achievement and Allen Bogan Memorial Award for TTA member of the year—will be announced at a later date. The Texas Champion Claimer award will be determined by an online vote in February.
Following is the complete list of the 2019 champion horses:
2-Year-Old Filly: Gee She Sparkles (by Race Day) • Owners: GFB Racing LLC and Danny Pish • Breeder: Inside Move
Co-2-Year-Old Colt/Gelding: Bubba Bling (by Too Much Bling) • Owner: Darren Fleming • Breeder: James Wessel
Co-2-Year-Old Colt/Gelding: Moro Said Ready (by Moro Tap) • Owners: Penn Family Racing and Kevin Clifton • Breeder: Kevin Clifton
3-Year-Old Filly: Ima Discreet Lady (by Discreet Cat) • Owners: Duane Coker and Raymond Todd White • Breeder: Larry Huntsinger
Older Filly/Mare: Shes Our Fastest (by Oratory) • Owners: Mark Norman and Norman Stables LLC • Breeder: Eureka Thoroughbred Farm
Older Horse: Redatory (by Oratory) • Breeder/Owner: James Wessel
Champion Broodmare: Miss Photogenic (by You and I)
Horse of the Year and 3-Year-Old Colt/Gelding: Mr Money Bags (by Silver City) • Owner/Breeder: Roy Cobb