Preview Racing


Strong Cast Of Seven In Christmas Invitational at Los Alamitos Race Course
Grade 1 winner Far Niente will face a strong field in Saturday's hristmas Invitational Handicap at Los Alamitos.

© Scott Martinez
Strong Cast Of Seven In Christmas Invitational at Los Alamitos Race Course

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—DECEMBER 11, 2014—Vessels Stallion Farm and Tom Atwood’s multiple Grade 1 winner Far Niente and 2013 AQHA champion aged mare Check N Fetch are among the seven runners that will compete in the $60,000 Christmas Invitational Handicap on Saturday at Los Alamitos. The Christmas Invitational took the place of the Champion of Champions on the stakes calendar.

Trained by Jose Hernandez Jr., Far Niente will be making his first start since running fourth in the Grade 1 Go Man Go Handicap on September 20. The lightly raced gelding by FDD Dynasty will be making only his fourth start of the season.

Fair Niente, bred in Texas by Bielau Oaks Ranch, won the Grade 1 Vessels Maturity two outings ago when recording a 3/4 length victory over Howard Nichols’ Jess Being Valiant at Los Alamitos. He made only five starts last season, but he was the winner of the Grade 1 Golden State Derby and ran fourth in the PCQHRA Breeders Derby.

“He always races well fresh,” Hernandez said. “We like to spread his races out and he enjoys that.”

Fair Niente, who will be ridden by Saul Ramirez, Jr. and will start from post four, will meet Jess Being Valiant in the Christmas Invitational. Trained by Jaime Gomez, the Valiant Hero colt won the A Ransom Handicap last year, but has finished out of the top three in his last three starts. Oscar Peinado will ride.

Lorena Velazquez Rodriguez’s Check N Fetch finished second in her first three outings of the year, but was out of the money when bumped at the start of the Las Damas Handicap on November 21. Prior to the Las Damas, the daughter of Check Him Out was second in the Grade 1 Mildred Vessels Memorial Handicap, Charger Bar Handicap, and Merial California Distaff Challenge. She won five stakes races last year at three different distances en route to earning divisional honors.

Lila Kessinger’s Separate Interest and Ed Allred’s Once Over, a pair of multiple stakes winners, will come into this race after finishing 1-2 in the Z. Wayne Griffin Stakes on November 16. Recent allowance winner Jake Gold BR and Vessels Maturity finalist Creole Williams will also race.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.