FUTURITY OPEN Bill Freeman And Autumn Boon DNA Blow Away The Field to win title Time was running out in a finals that was sorely lacking in drama. That is, until Bill Freeman and Autumn Boon DNA put a charge into the proceedings. In an electrifying ride that blew away the other 15 finalists, Autumn Boon DNA marked a 223 as the second-to-last horse to work in the finals and won by a staggering 7 points over Little Proud Mary, ridden by Ascencion Banuelos. "Hot damn, that was fun!" Freeman said after the ride. "It was exhilarating. It gives you a chill to come out there and do it when it all fits." The crowd could tell the kind of effect the ride had on Freeman. As it ended, but before his 223 was posted on the scoreboard, Freeman doffed his hat to the roaring crowd. Before Freeman rode, it was beginning to look like Banuelos, as the fifth rider to work, would win with his 216. If he had, it would have been the lowest winning score in the history of the class by 1.5 points. The cattle simply were not allowing one of the most highly regarded groups of 4-year-old horses in years to show their stuff. "They were tough," Freeman said. "The cattle dictated most everything. But this kind of cattle fits my mare to a T and let her do her pretty stuff. My horse dominates cattle. That's something you can't teach; that's just bred in her. The cattle stayed real clean. There hadn't been a real clean run tonight before I rode. For me, it was one of those magical nights." Freeman couldn't have done it, he said, without the help of his herd holders and turn-back riders. They were Faron Hightower, Jody Galyean, Bill Riddle and Terry Riddle. "They told me where the cattle were and they had them in the right position for me to cut," Freeman said. The victory was Freeman's second in Augusta (he also won the Futurity Open in 1995) and pushed his career earnings in the show over the $200,000 mark. It was only the fifth time in show history that the semifinal winner of this class went on to win the finals. "There is kind of a jinx," Freeman said. "I didn't think about anything; it just worked. I had a good workout on her before the finals and I stayed with her program. I don't worry about things like that (the jinx). The ride fits together or it doesn't. That's just part of cutting. And there is another one day after tomorrow." When Freeman won the 1995 Futurity Open in Augusta after numerous near-misses, he never thought anything could top it. The reason? He rode Smart Aristocrat, a horse he dearly loves, to the victory. But that was before Autumn Boon DNA, the result of an embryo transplant, came along. It all started when Freeman and his wife, Karen, struck a conditional deal for the mare before she was born. Freeman traded a share in the Smart Little Lena Syndicate to the late Larry Hall for a Dual Pep filly out of Hall's mare Royal Blue Boon. "Winning the second time is sweeter because I brought her along," Freeman said of Autumn Boon DNA. "This mare ã she is something special. I planned her a year before she was born. To bring her along this way, it's pretty special to win this event." Unlike his other Augusta Futurity win, Freeman and his wife are the owners of the winning horse. "That means we don't have to split the money ($23,245)," Freeman said.