Preview Racing


Forty-Six to Run In $224,900 Winter Derby Trials On Saturday
PCQHRA Breeders Futurity winner Racy High Roller is one of 10 stakes winners entered in Saturday's Winter Derby trials.

© Scott Martinez
Forty-Six to Run In $224,900 Winter Derby Trials On Saturday

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—JANUARY 18, 2017— A tremendous group of 3-year-olds - 46 in total - will compete in a total of six trials to the Grade 1 $224,900 Los Alamitos Winter Derby on Saturday night at Los Alamitos.

The horses with the 10 fastest times in the trials will advance to the Winter Derby final to be held at the Orange County oval on Saturday, February 11. This year’s Winter Derby purse enjoyed a 4.5% increase from 2016.

There are 10 stakes winners that will compete in the derby trials on Saturday. The list includes Kindergarten Futurity winner One Proud Eagle, PCQHRA Breeders Futurity winner Racy High Roller, Wild West Futurity Bannister and AQRA Turf Paradise Futurity winner Arizona Icon.

In addition, Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity third place finisher Katella Deli and PCQHRA Breeders Futurity runner-up Thirty Six Curls are also scheduled to compete in the derby trials.

The opening trial of the night might be the toughest one as it will feature both Racy High Roller and Bannister as well as Ed Burke Memorial Juvenile winner Janes Cartel and recent allowance winners That Rico and Perrys Gettin Down. Owned by Abigail Kawananakoa and trained by Chris O’Dell, Racy High Roller won the Breeders Futurity by a neck and also finished fourth to Chazaq in the Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity. After his futurity win, the gelding by One Famous Eagle won his trial to the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity, but just missed qualifying to the $2 million final by only 4/100ths of a second. To be ridden by Cody Jensen, Racy High Roller will go after his fourth win in eight career starts.

Denny and Sandy Weigt’s Bannister enjoyed a tremendous juvenile campaign. The Maknmoves gelding won both the Wild West and also the Beehive Futurity, but he had a tough trip when running sixth in the Holiday Handicap after getting bumped at the start. He’ll be looking to return to his glory days when he runs from post number five in this trial. Cesar De Alba, the leading Quarter Horse rider at Los Alamitos in 2016, will pilot Bannister for trainer Monty Arrossa.

Oscar Andrade and Steve Burns’ Jess Mas, a finalist to the Los Alamitos Two Million, will headline a great duel between top fillies in the second division of the trials. Jess Mas, which ran third in the B&W Stakes and eighth in the Two Million, will face two-time futurity finalist Kiddy Up Cowgirl, which hails from the barn of trainer James Glenn, Jr. Jess Mas will be ridden for the first time by jockey Carlos Huerta for trainer Elena Andrade. Kiddy Up Cowgirl will team up, as usual, with pilot Eulices Gomez. Owned by the Rod MacPherson Jr. Living Trust, Kiddy Up Cowgirl will look to qualify to her third major stakes race after making the finals to the Governor’s Cup Futurity and PCQHRA Breeders Futurity last year.

In the third trial, which is race number five on the card, three-time stakes winner One Proud Eagle will headline the field. Owned by Ron Hartley, One Proud Eagle won the Kindergarten Futurity by a length and then the John Deere Juvenile Challenge by a half-length. He showed his tremendous ability in his final start of the year, winning the Holiday Handicap by a head on December 30. Tony Guymon will ride for trainer John Cooper, as he looks to pilot One Proud Eagle to his sixth win in nine career starts.

EG High Desert Farms' Jess Hawk has the look of being a star on the rise. The filly won the Pat Hyland Handicap against male runners last year and has since finished third in two other stakes events, the Autumn and Holiday handicaps. The daughter of One Sweet Jess won four races during her freshman campaign and has hit the board in six of seven career starts.

Las Vegas Ranch's Arizona Icon will also compete in this trial while making his Los Alamitos debut. The Texas Icon gelding was an easy winner in a $10,000 futurity at Turf Paradise in his last start and before that he posted a half-length win in the AQRA Turf Paradise Futurity. He'll be facing the toughest field he's ever faced on Saturday night, but he'll get the services of solid 21-year-old jockey G. Jairo Rangel for this race. Matthew Fales will saddle the Arizona homebred runner.

One Proud Eagle is not the only notable son of One Famous Eagle in this trial. Vaughn Cook's Eagle Appeals, a colt by the aforementioned stallion, will also compete in this race and will be saddled by trainer Paul Jones. Eagle Appeals was second in his trial to the Golden State Million Futurity last year, but will be looking for a strong effort after running out of the money in his Two Million trial. Funny Car and Evil Genius are two other solid runners that will race in this division.

Juan Humberto Moya's Thirty Six Curls will be making his first start since running second to Racy High Roller in the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity on October 1 when he leads the fourth trial (race number six). The Tres Seis gelding is lightly raced, as this will be only his fourth career start. Trained by Jose Flores, Thirty Six Curls won his two other outings. Two Feather Series, LLC's Blueeyedeagle will also compete in this heat and will be going after his fourth consecutive win. All three of his previous victories have come at Los Alamitos and they include a 1¼ length allowance win and an easy ¾ length win in a trial to the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity. The son of One Dashing Eagle then won the Los Alamitos Juvenile Invitational Stakes. Jesus Rios Ayala will ride for trainer Bret Vickery.

Ed Allred's Seared is one to watch in the fifth trial (race seven), as the powerfully built gelding will go after his fourth career victory. A finalist to the Governor's Cup Futurity, Seared was a big winner in his Golden State Million trial, but missed qualifying, and was second in this Two Million trial. Trained by Glenn, Jr. and to be ridden by Gomez, Seared will be making his first start since November 20.

Dutch Masters III and Paul Blanchard’s Katella Deli qualified to the first and last futurities of the year at Los Alamitos in 2016. The Foose gelding made the Kindergarten final in May and then made a huge late run to go from last to third in the Los Alamitos Two Million finale. Trained by Jaime Gomez and to be ridden by Carlos Huerta on Saturday, Katella Deli hit the board in six of seven starts last season. His only out of the money finish was a fifth in the Kindergarten when he bumped from both sides.

The field in this trial will also feature Ed Burke and Golden State Million finalist King Candy, a runner that posted a massive 2 3/4 length win in this Golden State Million trial. Guillermo Morales will saddle the talented runner for Balgo Racing Team, Inc.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.