LOS ALAMITOS, CA— May 3, 2015—Enrique Gonzalez of EG High Desert Farms has enjoyed his shares of successes in the Kindergarten Futurity. The 2003 AQHA champion owner won back-to-back runnings of the Kindergarten with Hawkish in 2003 and Dash To The End in 2004. Gonzalez will have a chance to win his third Kindergarten after Walk Thru Crystal remained a perfect two for two while posting the fastest qualifying time of :15.411 on Sunday at Los Alamitos.

Walk Thru Crystal, a filly by Walk Thru Fire out of multiple Grade 1 futurity finalist Corona Crystal, is not the only filly carrying the EG High Desert Farms green and gold silks in this year’s Kindergarten. EG will also be represented by the homebred Marko Czech, who won the third of eight trials in the third fastest time of :15.562.

Gonzalez could potentially have a third qualifier as the homebred gelding Unclaimed Dividend finished in a deadheat for the win with Dutch Masters III’s Thru The Night while also tying for the 10th fastest time. There will be a shake between Unclaimed Dividend and Thru The Night to determine the fastest qualifier to the Kindergarten final, which will be held on Sunday, May 17.

Sixty-one juveniles competed in the trials to the Kindergarten on Sunday. Headed by Walk Thru Crystal, the horses with the nine fastest times plus the winner of the shake off will compete in the richest running of the Grade 2 Kindergarten since 2011. The purse for the 300-yard race will be $294,500.

“My heart is very happy right now,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a blessing to be a big race like the Kindergarten. This race has always been special to me and I can’t complain when I have two horses in the Kindergarten final. Walk Thru Crystal won her first race in a time of :15.37, but she had a tailwind (13 mph). There was another tailwind tonight (12 mph), but she ran a good race and won again.”

Gonzalez purchased Walk Thru Crystal at the Los Alamitos Equine Sale for $60,000 about an hour after being an under bidder on the $220,000 highest seller, Free Swinger.

“I was bidding on (Free Swinger), but I eventually stopped,” Gonzalez said. “A few moments later I saw Walk Thru Crystal come up and even though she looked a little small she had good bloodlines and she just caught my eye. I liked how she was moving in the sale ring so I started bidding on her and I ended up as the highest bidder. We took her to the ranch and she got sick. She had a cough and it took us a little bit longer to get her ready. I didn’t expect much from her, but she’s been a big surprise.”

Trained by Yanet Rodriguez and ridden by Alejandro Luna, Walk Thru Crystal won her debut by 1½ lengths in what remains the season’s fastest 300-yard time for a 2-year-old of :15.37. Bred by La Presita and Armando Leon, the Walk Thru Fire filly came back in the trials with a hard-fought victory neck over Bobby Cox’s Carnegie Haul, who finished with the second fastest time of the night of :15.442.

“Every owner wants to win, but it’s tough to do,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve had some good times, but I’ve also gone through bad stretches. It was my fault, but I’ve made some changes. It was other owner’s time to do well. It wasn’t my time. Now I have Yanet Rodriguez taking care of my horses and she’s doing a great job. Alejandro Luna is riding my horses and he’s a smart jockey with a lot of knowledge and experience. Walk Thru Crystal showed her ability tonight. She might not be the best 2-year-old on the grounds, but she has proven that she’s a good filly.”

Marko Czech won her trial by a neck over Jaime Gomez’s Docs Best Card. Also saddled by Yanet Rodriguez, Marko Czech was ridden by newcomer Jesus Rios Ayala. The jockey piloted Marko Czech when she made her first start – a second place finish against Walk Thru Crystal back on April 10. Rios Ayala kept the mount aboard Marko Czech for the trials and the result was a qualifying effort to the Kindergarten. Corona Czech sired Marko Czech, who is out of the Thoroughbred mare Clydette.

“I bought Clydette here for $1,800,” Gonzalez said. “She was in a $2,500 claiming race here and after the race the owner asked me if I wanted her for $1,800. I said ‘Yes, I am taking her with me.’ She’s turned out to be a nice broodmare for me. She’s given me Jimmy Delivers, Clydette Mia, and now Marko Czech.”

Jimmy Delivers ran second in the 2008 Governor’s Cup Futurity, third in the 2009 Los Alamitos Winter Derby, and fourth in the 2009 Los Alamitos Super Derby, while Clydette Mia won seven races at Los Alamitos including the $50,000 Miss Princess Handicap and Easy Date Handicap.

Jaime Gomez shares the record with the legendary Blane Schvaneveldt for most training wins in the Kindergarten with seven. Gomez qualified two runners to this year’s race in the form of second fastest qualifier Carnegie Haul and fourth fastest qualifier Docs Best Card (:15.590).

“I love the way Carnegie Haul ran,” said Gomez about the colt by Corona Cartel. “We were chasing Walk Thru Crystal the entire race. (Jockey Carlos Huerta) said that he got right next to her, but he couldn’t get past her. Walk Thru Crystal broke faster than we did. That’s fine. Carnegie Haul will give it his all in the final.”

Gomez and Huerta paired up again in the third trial with Docs Best Card, a Corona Cartel half-brother to 2000 Kindergarten winner Secret Card, a champion filly that Gomez trained.

“Docs Best Card slipped a little bit coming out of the race. These two horses are going to be tough in the final,” Gomez said.

Ed Allred and trainer Scott Willoughby will also be represented by a pair of runners in the Kindergarten final. With Eulices Gomez aboard, the Tr Dasher gelding Ready Red finished as the fifth fastest qualifier of :15.597 after running third to Walk Thru Crystal in the opening trial. Huerta was aboard the Kiddy Up filly Joyous, the second place finisher in the seventh trial.

“We qualified with two out of three horses,” Willoughby said. “I’ll take that any time. The horse (Sinister Plot) that did not qualify won his trial so our horses did well. Ready Red went up against some tough horses in the first trial. There was a strong tail wind that helped, but he also ran a good race. Joyous ran a great race and she just needed more room. I think she’ll run big in the final.”

Joyous finished with the eighth fastest time of :15.660.

Racing for Ashley Garcia and Angela Aquino, High Class Cartel remained unbeaten after holding off Joyous by a neck in the aforementioned trial. The filly by Tr Dasher came into this race after winning her maiden race by an impressive 1¼ lengths.

“I’m on top of the world,” said Garcia.

“We (were) sweating it all night and it was nail biting time,” said Aquino, who saddled the Reginald Rasner-bred runner. “There are some nice babies in the final.”

Owner Juan Humberto Moya will be competing in his first graded futurity final after the Allred-bred Trust Me Not won the fifth trial by super impressive 2¼ lengths. Ridden by Cruz Mendez for trainer Jose Flores, the Tr Dasher gelding had finished in his previous start. Flores will be going after his third straight Kindergarten after wins with Glitter In My Face in 2013 and Old Girl last year.

Anna and Rod MacPherson’s Big Time Wild completed the list of qualifiers after posting the night fastest time of :15.665. Another Allred bred, the Separatist gelding is a half brother to Chicanery and More Than Wild, both multiple futurity finalists at Los Alamitos in recent years. John Cooper saddled Big Time Wild, who was ridden by Cesar De Alba.

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

Leading living sire Corona Cartel had a huge night, not only did he sire two finalists, he is the dam sire of three other qualifiers and paternal sire of yet another qualifier through his son Kiddy Up.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.