Lil Longmire has already overcome long odds to make it to the Grade 2 John Deere Juvenile Championship.

© Kira Crook

Q-RACING—OCTOBER 20, 2021—Utah-bred Lil Longmire comes into the John Deere Juvenile Challenge Championship (G2) off an improving three-win streak.

The fact that the daughter ofleding first-crop sire A Revenant will be running at a new track probably won’t bother her too much, considering the fact that she’s already run at four tracks in her four-race career, and has already proven that she can take her race with her. The stakes winner has earnings of $29,920.

Lil Longmire races for Ben Peterson of Morgan, Utah, and his mother, Larie Hannum.

"She was into the horse racing a long time ago, and this is the first time she has gotten back into it, so she’s pretty excited and having fun," Ben says of his mom.

The family has a long history with racing. Lil Longmire was bred in the name of Ben’s dad, Spencer Peterson.

Ben’s brother, Billy Peterson, is the well-known retired jockey who won the All American Futurity in 1995 with Winalota Cash.

Ben has bred a number of successful horses, including the Favorite Cartel gelding Mahoney N Tacklebery, who in 2018 lit the board in the AQHA Distance Challenge Championship (G1). The career earner of $223,245 will this year be making his third appearance at the Challenge Championships as a contender in the undercard distance race.

As for Lil Longmire, her journey to the Challenge Championships is one of good fortune and perseverance.

Her dam, Dee Zired, is herself a homebred mare for the Petersons; Dee Zired’s second dam is world champion Deelish. Lil Longmire’s sire, A Revenant, was named the sport’s champion 2-year-old colt after he was second in the 2016 Ruidoso Futurity (G1) and then won the Rainbow Futurity (G1). Ben really liked the stallion, and they bred to him in his first year at stud – a good move, as sadly the stallion died and is now available only through ICSI breeding. From his first crop to run, he has already gotten six-figure earners including Sippin Hayden ($276,630), Revenant Moon ($224,418) and Double Duty ($107,200).

As a yearling, Lil Longmire had an accident that left her in bad physical shape.

"She lost all the muscle off her hind end and could barely even walk," Ben said. "I had several people tell me to put her down. I just thought, ‘Nah, I’m not going to do that. I’ll see if she gets better.’"

With time and good care, she began to improve. In fact, she was healthy enough that Ben decided to send her for training, albeit with low expectations.

"Honestly, I was just expecting them to say ‘Look, she can’t run.’" he said. "But they kept going with her, and no problems or signs of being hurt. So we paid her into some late races."

She made her racing debut at the Oneida County Fair and raced greenly for her only race loss to date.

About a month later, she used a big late kick to break her maiden at Sweetwater Downs.

Next was her first chance at stakes company, starting with the Juvenile Challenge trials held at Black Foot, in which she went gate-to-wire and posted the fastest qualifying time. She backed that up on September 25, winning the $52,000 John Deere Pocatello Juvenile Challenge by an expanding three-quarters of a length and notching a 101 speed index.

"I don’t think she has hit her peak yet," Ben said. "She’s still learning. She ran pretty good and straight in the finals, but in the trials she was kind of all over the track. She’s improving every time she runs."

That should provide some wagering intrigue in this week’s Grade 2 event, but no matter what, the results will be a source of happiness for the family that bred her.

"It feels good to be able to breed one and have it do good like that," Ben said, adding that he’s looking forward to both of his homebreds competing on the big stage.

Look for complete coverage of the Bank of America Challenge Championships at AQHA's website and on racing social media. If you can't attend the races live at The Downs at Albuquerque on October 23, watch on Q-Racing Video (subscription required)!