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Banuelos shoots to top of leaderboard
By Chris Gay
Staff Writer
Ascension Banuelos believes his mare could challenge Pete Branch's arena-record run this week.
On Jazzy Miss Dual, the Jacksboro, Texas cutter shot to the top of the leaderboard with a late-afternoon run of 221.5 to win the Monday go-round of the Futurity Open.
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Ascencion Banuelos on Jazzy Miss Dual leads the 4-Year-Old Open Division.
TODD BENNETT/STAFF
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"She's got a lot more," Banuelos said. "That's just a warmup. If I wasn't out of position on my first cow, she would've marked a 225 or 226. ... There's no limit to what she can score. She can break the scoreboard."
Seventy cutters marked at least 212 to advance to today's second go-round.
On Jazzy Miss Dual, a mare by Mister Dual Pep out of Jazzy Starlena, Banuelos has a ways to go to break Branch's Augusta Futurity record of 227, set in 1995. But the mare made the finals in the Futurity Open and Futurity Non-Pro events at the Abilene Spectacular earlier this month.
"She's real consistent and just a great, great mare," Banuelos said. "She's just a dream to ride. She doesn't have any limitations to what she can do."
Banuelos snatched the lead away from Eddie Braxton three horses after Braxton posted a 221 on Haidas Shorty. Braxton worked in the cow pen as an 18-year-old in the inaugural Augusta Futurity. He said he's been competing in the Augusta Futurity for the past 15 years.
"The crew I got helping me (Mark Lavender, Jason Surles, Kevin and Brandon Walden) pretty much told me what to cut when I got in there," Braxton said. "I got a pretty good idea. But it was pretty much my help."
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