A rare chance to continue the legacy of a Champion Quarter Horse in any preferred way will be presented at the Fast Rack December Mixed Sale on December 14th. At this event, AQHA champion 2-year-old mare Dark NME will be offered alongside four embryos, totaling 2,026, expected to produce her first offspring.
Dark NME, a four-year-old daughter of Hez Relentless, has shown remarkable consistency, never placing lower than third in 14 career races. She is listed as Hip 11. Her impressive career began with six consecutive wins as a 2-year-old, including dominant victories in the Grade 1 Remington Park Oklahoma-bred Red Futurity trial and final, with standout times of 16.402 and 16.295 seconds for 330 yards.
Setting records became a norm for Dark NME, especially highlighted by her win in the Grade 1 Rainbow Futurity at Ruidoso Downs, where she set a new 400-yard record of 19.028 seconds, winning by three and a half lengths—surpassing the previous record held by world champion Empress Sam since 2021. She continued competing against the top horses, winning the Grade 1 All-American Futurity trial and finishing third in the final, her sole defeat that season. She closed her 2-year-old campaign with a win in the Grade 1 Texas Classic Futurity.
At the season’s end, Dark NME was named the 2023 AQHA Champion 2-Year-Old Filly, following in the footsteps of her sire, Jes Relentless, the 2014 Champion 3-Year-Old Stallion, and achieving the highest wins (eight) for a Quarter Horse that year. Dark NME retired with nine wins, 14 starts, and earnings of $1,739,485, making her a highly valuable mare for breeding.
Her sire, Hez Relentless, boasts a Grade 3 win, four Grade 1 victories, and a track record at Remington Park. He is renowned for siring 2022 champion 2-year-old and All-American Futurity winner Hess Judge and Jury, who earned over $2 million, plus champion 3-year-old gelding Relentless Eagle and Grade 1 winner Unrelentless.
Bred by L Hendrix Horses LLC in Oklahoma, Dark NME is out of the winning Spirit Curl Jess mare Quions, and her lineage includes G2 stakes winner Mr Dillard. The pedigree includes success with Grade 1 winners CR Tuckernuck and Fastprize Zoom, Grade 2 winners Spit Like Jaguar, and Grade 3 winners AJ Fast Corona.
Along with Dark NME, the sale includes all four embryos she produced for the 2026 foaling season, none of which the breeder plans to keep. Two embryos, Hip 12 and Hip 14, are sired by Favorite Cartel, a G1 winner known for producing seven champions and 33 G1 winners. The combination of Favorite Cartel and Hez Relentless mares is new, but the first foal, Me Ettago Relent, has already shown promise with multiple wins and stakes placements.
Hip 13 is sired by Flying Cowboy 123, a two-time Apolitical Jess champion and sire of recent AQHA champions Cowboy’s Gun Z and Lethal Cowboy 123. Their cross is gaining success, highlighted by Cowboy Cadillac, winner of the Sweetwater Downs Futurity.
Hip 15 is out of Tempting Dash’s champion 2-year-old from 2014, Kis My Hox, known for producing seven G1 winners including the 2024 champion Kempton. The Hez Relentless x Kis My Hox cross has produced stakes winner Relentless Dasher.
With proven stallions Favorite Cartel, Flying Cowboy 123, and Kis My Hox backing Dark NME, buyers can expect highly promising foals from these four embryos in 2026.
Dark NME and her embryos will be available at the Fastrack December Mixed Sale on December 14th. The full catalog can be viewed online.
Fan Take: For horse racing fans, this sale represents a thrilling opportunity to own a piece of championship bloodlines with enormous potential. The offspring from Dark NME could shape the future of Quarter Horse racing, promising high performance and exciting new champions in the years to come.
