LOS ALAMITOS, CA—July 30, 2011—Danielle Hall and Jim Hanson’s Fixin To Fly won the $466,000 Governor’s Cup Futurity after Long Gone was disqualified from first and placed ninth after interfering with fastest qualifier Ima Chickie Two with about 100 yards left in the 350-yard contest.

The victory was bittersweet for Fixin To Fly’s camp, as the sorrel gelding had to be vanned off the track as a precautionary measure.

“He walked inside the ambulance on his own,” said assistant trainer Ryan Hanson. “(Jockey) Jay Conklin said that the horse felt pretty sore and he didn’t want to gallop him back in that condition. Jay was taking care of the horse. The horse gave it his all in this race and it took a lot out of him. It’s tough right now. I can’t say I’m excited because we got beat. Long Gone may have been the better horse tonight and he gets disqualified. It’s tough when you win a race in this fashion. It’s hard to celebrate it because we’re concerned about our horse right now.”

“He pulled up a little off,” Conklin added. “I wasn’t going to gallop him back like that. It was a good race and I knew that Long Gone was the one to beat.”

After a back and forth late battle for the lead between the Tr Dasher colt Long Gone and the Walk Thru Fire gelding Fixin To Fly, the stewards ruled that Long Gone had veered in and blocked the path of stablemate Ima Chickie Two, costing her a better placing. As a result, Armando Leon’s Long Gone was placed behind Ima Chickie Two in the official order of finish. He had crossed the finish line a nose ahead of Fixin To Fly. Kolleen Ledgerwood’s This Partys Fire was moved up from third to second after the disqualification.

“I thought I had the room, but after seeing the replay I can see that I was close to the other horse,” said Rodrigo Aceves after the race. “My horse was making up ground and I felt like we were going to win the race. That’s why I didn’t want to stop him when he started going inside.”

“It was a legitimate call,” said Long Gone’s trainer, Adan Farias. “The stewards have a job to do and they made the right call. It hurts right now and it’s money out of our pockets, but you have to be professional about it. It’s part of racing.”

“We can’t worry about the past,” added Armando Leon. “I know we have a good horse in Long Gone and he’ll have other races to run.”

Second in the Kindergarten Futurity earlier this year, Fixin To Fly earned $193,620 in the Governor’s Cup to take his career earnings to $258,722. He was bred by Ed Allred. Ridden by Joel Cruz for trainer Roberto Dominguez, The Partys Fire earned $78,370 for finishing second. Melina Gonzalez’s Carne Vino earned $55,320 for running third for trainer Jose Flores and jockey Cesar De Alba.

Travesty, Idol Special Dash, FDD Moon, Miss Mindys Bar Bet, Ima Chickie Two, Long Gone and Earth Rain Fire completed the field.

Hot Hitter Completes Governor's Cup Sweep With Derby Win

Arnold Gonzalez’s Hot Hitter completed a sweep of the Governor’s Cup Series after winning the $196,000 Governor’s Cup Derby by a neck over Dr. Steve Burns’ Walkin Bac.

Hot Hitter is the seventh horse to complete the sweep, a list that also includes his half brother Hard Hitting in 2008-09. The others to sweep the Governor’s Cup Derby and Futurity are Separatist (1999-2000), Corona Cash (1997-98), Corona Chick (1991-92), Aladuino (1982-83) and Rich Lass (1981-82).

Ridden by Francisco Rubio and trained by Felipe Quintero, Hot Hitter was fourth at the start of the 400-yard race but quickly started to make up ground. The Ed Allred-bred runner was on the lead by the halfway point of the race and he would not look back again.

Sired by Walk Thru Fire and out of the tremendous broodmare Chickasis, Hot Hitter won for the fifth time in 11 starts after stopping the clock in :19.401. His earnings of $80,220 now take his lifetime bankroll to $489,507. Hot Hitter has been third or better in 10 of 11 career starts.

Walkin Bac, a colt sired by Walk Thru Fire, earned $32,470 for finishing second for trainer Jose Flores. Atwood Ranches, Inc. and Vessels Stallion Farm’s Sheza Shy Shahayla earned $22,920 for running third at odds of 39-1.

Parsons Rock, Personal Glory, Man Of Mine, Enjoy The Walk, Been Chased, Sentimental Chick and Fearless And First completed the field.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com