LOS ALAMITOS, CA— OCTOBER 12, 2014—Foose Cash SR and Five Bar Cartel, winners of million dollar futurities in 2013, each posted impressive victories in their first outings of the year in southern California while also recording among the fastest times in the trials to the Grade 1 $972,000 Los Alamitos Super Derby on Sunday night.

A total of 40 sophomores competed in the trials with the horses with the 10 fastest times moving on to the Super Derby final on Saturday, November 1. The winner of the Super Derby will earn a first place prize of $386,442 and a berth to the $600,000 Champion of Champions to be held on December 13 at Los Alamitos Race Course.

Owned by La Presita LLC, San Gregorio Racing Stables, and World Champion Racing Stables, Foose Cash SR posted the fastest qualifying time after a wire-to-wire victory in the fifth and final Super Derby trial of the night. Ridden by Eduardo Nicasio for trainer Eloy Navarro, the Foose gelding was enjoying his fourth victory in a row after covering the 400 yards in a time of :19.433.

Bred by Anselmo Aguilar, Foose Cash SR won the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity last season and in his only previous sophomore start he won a trial to the All American Derby at Ruidoso Downs. Out of the broodmare Takin Some Gold, Foose Cash SR entered this race after posting a solid 350-yard workout of :17.80 on September 23. Prior to his 2014 debut at Ruidoso Downs, he posted a 220 yard work from gate in a sizzling :11.11.

“It was one of the fastest works ever at Ruidoso Downs,” Navarro said. “He came from Ruidoso in great shape and ran a super race in the trials. He was not lucky enough to qualify to the All American Derby, but I thought he would do great in these trials.”

Leaving the gate from post number two, Foose Cash SR flew to the lead right from the start and never looked back in this Super Derby trial. He cruised from there to an easy 1 ½ length win. “He was impressive,” Nicasio said. “It’s like he came back from Ruidoso with a hunger to race. He gets better more and more each day. This was a very easy race. He ran fast, he won easy, and he was never under any pressure. I like this horse a lot.”

“Eduardo really likes Foose Cash SR,” Navarro said. “He’s Eduardo’s baby in the barn.”

Navarro had quite a night during the Super Derby trials. Led by Foose Cash SR, Navarro saddled eight of the 10 qualifiers to equal Paul Jones’ feat during the trials to the 2004 Los Alamitos Winter Derby. The trainer also saddled Highest Fire, Mr Corona Cartel, Mistic Rose, Fire Up Willie, Dare To Flair, Dont Walk Peacefully, and Dimes And Nicks.

Alberto Valdes’ Highest Fire finished with the second fastest qualifying time of :19.574 following a length victory in the third trial of the night. Also piloted by Nicasio, Highest Fire won his All American Derby trial, but missed the final. In New Mexico, he also competed in a trial to the Rainbow Derby and was fifth in the $100,000 First Down Dash Stakes. In his freshman campaign at Los Alamitos, he was fourth in the Golden State Million Futurity and seventh in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity.

“This colt has awesome bloodlines,” Navarro said. “His father is the champion Corona Cartel and his mother is the champion Higher Fire. I can’t say much more than that. This horse is as calm a horse as you’ll see. He’s just a great individual. He ran nicely in New Mexico and he was better tonight.” Bred by Julianna Hawn Holt, Highest Fire improved to four wins in 12 starts.

San Gregorio Racing Stable’s Five Bar Cartel finished with the third fastest clocking of the evening after winning his trial by a half-length in :19.648. The Corona Cartel colt out of the Grade 1 winner Five Bar Molly was the only freshman runner in 2013 to qualify to the Ed Burke Million Futurity, Golden State Million Futurity and Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity. He won the Ed Burke Million, which helped him secure the title of AQHA champion 2-year-old colt. Five Bar Cartel has continued his great form in 2014. He was the runner-up in the Grade 1 All American Derby in his last start and now a Super Derby finalist.

“He is not a big horse, but he has a huge heart,” said Saul Ramirez Jr., who pilots the colt. “He stumbled a little bit, but he got up right away and he was good after that. He won it pretty easy.”

“(Five Bar Cartel) is at the top of his game,” trainer Danny Montes said. “Saul said he asked him a few times just to make sure that he was paying attention. It was a hand-ride after that. He saved some for the final. I can exhale now and relax a little bit. Having a horse like Five Bar Cartel makes coming to work so much more fun. I can’t wait to get to the track each morning to see him. When I stand in front of his stall and look at him I start to think if there’s something I can do to improve him. He’s pretty good right now. I don’t think I need to change anything.”

Gildardo Garcia’s Dare To Flair, who finished second to fastest qualifier Foose Cash SR, and Golden State Million Futurity runner-up Mr Corona Cartel finished as the fourth and fifth fastest qualifiers.

“Dare To Flair ran second to Moonist earlier this year,” Navarro noted. “I thought he had a chance to run a very nice race from the outside post.”

Dare To Flair, a gelding by First Down Dash, was second to Moonist in a trial to the Governor’s Cup Derby. He went on to finish sixth in the final after stumbling at the start. He posted the fourth fastest time here with a time of :19.682.

San Gregorio Racing Stable and World Champion Racing Stables’ Mr Corona Cartel won the opening trial by a half-length in a time of :19.692. The gelded son of Corona Cartel came into this trial after a third place finish in an allowance race at Los Alamitos in his sophomore debut.

“He needed that race,” Navarro continued. “He had a good workout after that (on September 24) and that got him fit. It looked like he hesitated a little bit with the whip. He didn’t like it. We’ll remember that for the next time.”

Mr Corona Cartel will be joined by his full sister, Mistic Rose, in the Super Derby field. Their mother is Adashin Runaway, a two-time stakes winner whose progeny also includes 2010 Los Alamitos Million Futurity third place finisher Adashin First Dash and stakes winner Pepe El Trueno.

Also qualifying to the Super Derby was Juan Aleman, Muniz Quarter Horses LLC, Bruce Thompson, et al’s Big Sky Lad. Trained by Juan Aleman, Big Sky Lad finished with the sixth fastest time. Ridden by Cesar De Alba, the trials were his first race of the year after hitting the board in all three of his 2013 starts. His last race was a second place finish in the trials to the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity. The trials also featured the return to Los Alamitos of jockey Joe Badilla. The seventh all-time leading Quarter Horse rider at Los Alamitos with 1,442 wins, Badilla was making his first riding appearance in Orange County since 2006. Badilla qualified Fire Up Willie and Dont Walk Peacefully to the Super Derby.

For the complete list of qualifiers including times, sires, dams, owners, breeders, trainers and jockeys CLICK HERE.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.