Alto Aims High With Materiality

High in the mountains of New Mexico just north of the racetrack at Ruidoso is a lovely community where residents of the Southwest can escape the area’s heat and humidity. Taken from the Spanish word for “high,” Alto is home to Ed Harrell and Gil Moutray, a pair of horsemen who found each other, formed a partnership, and are now going to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) with their Besilu Stables Florida Derby (gr. I) winner Materiality.

Joining together the forces of Harrell Racing and Moutray’s Seven Rivers, the two men and their families formed Alto Racing seven years ago to play at a higher level than either had been able to previously. Buying horses in the mid-six-figure range, they have raced Peace Preserver, winner of the Noble Damsel Stakes; Sweet Whiskey, winner of the Old Hat Stakes (gr. III), Winning Cause, who has taken the Cliff Hanger Stakes and Lexington Coolmore Stakes (gr. III); and Archwarrior, the steam horse at Saratoga Race Course in the summer of 2012.

Now, Harrell and Moutray will be traveling to Louisville with Materiality, for whom they gave $400,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s Timonium auction last May. The son of Afleet Alex   may be lightly raced, with only three outings and not having started until January of this season, but he has made up for lost time, winning each of his starts, the latest victory coming in the Florida Derby in which he defeated Upstart by 1 ½ lengths.

Harrell, whose sons Curtis, Forrest, and Keith also participate in Alto, grew up in Arkansas, where he would sneak into Oaklawn Park as a teenager.

“The bug bit me early,” said Harrell. “The gambling aspect attracted me. That was the main way to have some excitement when I was a kid.”

When Harrell set up his oil business in Houston nearly 35 years ago, that racing bug was still with him. He named his company Citation Oil and Gas after the Triple Crown winner. Since then, Harrell has raced on the New Mexico circuit and occasionally in California. He had been out of racing for years when he discovered Moutray living down the street from him seven years ago. They each talked about their love for the sport and thus came Alto Racing.

“I decided I’d try it one more time,” Harrell said.

Moutray, a native of Carlsbad, N.M., won his first horse race as an owner in 1969 “while I was still in college pinching pennies.” He raced around New Mexico and eventually became chairman of the New Mexico State Racing Commission. He owns a holding company that owns pecan orchards in the region and has investments in banks, a commercial real estate business, and a small oil company.

“Ed and I committed to upgrading. I have books of win photos from New Mexico, but my goal was to have a graded stakes winner in this venture,” said Moutray. “Shoot for the stars. When we go to buy a horse we talk about getting a Saturday afternoon horse.”

There is no bigger Saturday than the first one in May at Churchill Downs. And Moutray’s trip there represents one large circle, starting when he met JJ Pletcher years ago in El Paso.

“He trained horses for friends of mine, and they have win photos where Todd (JJ’s son) is 5-years-old running around the winner’s circle," Moutray said. "Mike O’Farrell of Ocala Stud introduced us to bloodstock agent Steve Young and that brought us to Todd. So that’s been a fun ride.”

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Young purchased Materiality, bred in Kentucky by John Gunther out of the Langfuhr mare Wildwood Flower. Alto will purchase six to eight horses in a typical year. Moutray, who introduced Gerald Ford of Diamond A Racing to Thoroughbreds, has been to the Derby many times, but never before as an owner.

“This is a childhood dream for me,” Moutray said. “I’ve been fighting this game for decades and with Eddie’s support and partnership it’s offered me an opportunity to buy better-quality horses. We’re humble and appreciative of the good luck we’ve had.

“What’s great is that both of our families are sharing this together. My daughters Dawn and Kacy are involved, and this is a wonderful moment for all of us. We have two families that have become great friends and it wouldn’t be as much fun if we didn’t share the experience together.”