Challenge


Grade 1 Winner Little Talks Heads Adequan California Derby
Grade 1 winner Little Talks will headline a full field in the $45,180 Adequan California Derby Challenge on Saturday at Los Alamitos.

© Scott Martinez
Grade 1 Winner Little Talks Heads Adequan California Derby

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—AUGUST 18, 2016—Steve Burns’ Grade 1 winner Little Talks will headline a full field of 10 top sophomores racing in the $45,180 Adequan California Derby Challenge on Saturday at Los Alamitos. The Adequan California is slated as the eighth and final race on the card, which will also feature a Pick 6 carryover of $11,808. With the new money expected to be wagered in the Pick 6 on Friday, the total pool figures to be around $40,000.

To be ridden by Cesar De Alba for trainer Mike Casselman, Little Talks gets top billing based on her past resume plus solid 1/2 length trial win in her 2016 debut. The Favorite Cartel filly won the $1,049,000 Golden State Million Futurity last year in a memorable race over the three-time Grade 1 stakes place runner Docs Best Card.

“(Burns) bred her to a couple of different horses,” said Casselman, referring to Little Talks first half of the year. “She came back a little late so we missed the last derby (Governor’s Cup) so we could do something (in the Adequan).”

Another talented runner in the Adequan is Ron Hartley’s My Favorite Check, winner of the Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes and runner-up in the El Primero Del Ano Derby. John Cooper, who has enjoyed a super season with 33 wins, is only two Quarter Horse wins away from 1,400 for his Los Alamitos career.

Mark and Peggy Brown’s Timely Delivery is one to watch in the Adequan California final, as he has proven to love racing at Los Alamitos. The Volcom gelding won his Adequan California trial by a neck at 30-1 odds while facing a field that included La Primera Del Ano Derby winner Jess Good Reason, Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity finalist Time For Jess and the previously mentioned My Favorite Check. Those four runners finished as the top four fastest qualifiers.

Trained by Rafael Orozco of Schvaneveldt Racing Stables, Timely Delivery always seems to deliver at Los Alamitos. He won The Plan Handicap last September and was third at 17-1 odds in the $126,000 Wild West Futurity.

“When he gets out of the gate, he can run with these horses,” said Brenda Schaveneveldt Figueroa. “I felt he was coming in at the top of his game. Mark and Peggy had him in Idaho and they sent him down here in top shape. I felt we had a really good chance although his odds were super long. We knew if he could get out of the gates that he could run.”

The winner of this race will earn a berth to the Adequan Derby Challenge final to be held on October 29 at Los Alamitos. The complete field from the rail out: Little Talks, Fames Jess Sweet, First Prize Luke, My Favorite Check, Timely Delivery, Jess Good Reason, Volcoms Seperator, Time For Jess, El Compa JV and She Snows Shes Ivory.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.