If Terry Wootan polled 21 of his customers at Cooper’s Barbecue, and 11 said the brisket was decent, he wouldn’t be too happy. But if his Quarter Horse, Llano Teller, won 11 of 21 races, he’d be rather excited about the career of the four-year-old.

“Teller broke out on top and cruised to a win,” Wootan related, concerning his Texas-bred speedster, which captured the $100,530 Bank of America Remington Championship Challenge, May 6, in Oklahoma City. Llano Teller, which claimed half that total purse, is owned by Wootan Racing and Reed Land and Cattle of Seminole, Oklahoma; he has won close to $1.65 million dollars. That’s eighth all-time for geldings, the ones which happen to run 440 yards in swift fashion.

G.R. Carter is Teller’s jockey. He told the American Quarter Horse Association, “He is the utmost class in his field. About half way through the race, I put the whip away. When I did that, he started to pull up a little at the end, but he had enough to get there.”

The fans had faith in Llano Teller in the Championship Challenge. He went off as the 2-5 favorite. You would have thought they were betting on the Thunder. This was Wootan’s star’s fourth win at Remington Park. The contest lasted 21.45 seconds—you’d better not get stuck in a hot dog line before a Quarter Horse race, and, “You don’t have time to mess up,” Wootan advised about what has to be a quick-and-thorough, all-out effort in the 440.

Next up for Llano Teller is another trip down the Oklahoma City track—he runs in the Remington Park Championship, May 27.

Since Teller is a gelding, there are no stud fees in Terry Wootan’s future, but the positive side is there could be a lot more quarter miles to attack. “He might run till he’s eight or nine,” the owner forecast.

And right now, all appears to be all right with Wootan—his barbecue gets national attention, and his Quarter Horse is also running toward national attention, as he puts most opponents on the back burner.