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Rapp qualifies for Open finals
By Alisa DeMao
Staff Writer
The all-time winningest cutter in Augusta Futurity history is one step closer to his first Futurity Open title.
On Dulces Smart Lena, Phil Rapp marked a 220 Tuesday to win the second go-round of the Futurity Open with an aggregate score of 439. The top 22 horses qualified for the finals with aggregate scores of 429.5 or better.
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Phil Rapp on Dulces Smart Lena leads the 4-Year-Old
Open Division after round 2 with a combined score of 439.
JEFF BARNES/STAFF
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"We were not trying to do anything fancy," said Rapp, who has won six Augusta titles. "I had such a good score from the first round that I wasn't going to try and be a hero. So we cut our two good cows and went and died in the herd."
Rapp has entered the Futurity Open three previous times, but has failed to make the finals until Tuesday. One of the reasons he had trouble reaching the finals before was because of the semifinals.
But show officials took care of that problem. Before the 2001 Augusta Futurity, show officials dropped the semifinals for just the second time in the show's 23-year history. So horses advanced straight to the finals this year.
"I'll probably be one of the top horses going into the finals," Rapp said. "Say I was one of the top horses going into the semifinals and I were to draw up last in the first bunch and the first cow I cut runs over me.
"You're out. Here's your thousand dollars. Thank you very much," Rapp said. "With this, you're in the finals. You get a buckle and a little bit more money and a little bit more notoriety."
First go-round leader Ascension Banuelos posted a a safe 214.5 to add to his previous score of 221.5 for an aggregate total of 436.
"I didn't want to be a hero today because these cattle don't let you," Banuelos said. "I cut a real bad cow to start with and I was lucky she fell. The mare was doing everything she could, but the cows just plum run over you."
Faron Hightower, the 2001 Futurity Open champion, advanced by marking a 216.5 on Boons Millennium for an aggregate score of 432.
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