LOS ALAMITOS, CA—OCTOBER 6, 2017—Headed by Martha Wells’ strong trio of homebred runners, a total of 32 juveniles will compete in the trials to the $129,100 Wild West Futurity to be held on Sunday evening at Los Alamitos. First post for the nine-race program is 5:15 p.m.

The horses with the 10 fastest times in the 350-yard trials will return here for the final to be held on Sunday, October 29. The Wild West is for horses that have competed in the Intermountain and Northwest regions plus Arizona and Nevada.

Owned and bred by Wells, Yanque looks like the top runner in the trials after winning The Plan Handicap on September 8. Trained by Matt Fales, Yanque also competed in the $390,000 Governor’s Cup Futurity in late July after winning his trial race. The gelding by Favorite Cartel is out of the Hawkinson mare Red Hawk Chick.

"Unfortunately I lost Red Hawk Chick due to colic," Wells said. "I’m hoping for some good things from Yanque. I’m really excited about this horse. I just hope he breaks and keeps improving. I really he’ll make a nice 3-year-old next year because he’ll relish the longer distance. I love the breeding on this horse. I just love breeding horses."

Wells is also pleased about her continued working relationship with the Fales family.

"I’ve had horses with the Fales for about 10 years now," she said. "Each year I’ve had a few of my young horses in Arizona during the early part of the year with Matt and his dad, Ralph. They’re like my family now. Ralph has always been an excellent horseman and he’s past that knowledge down to his son, Matt. Matt will call and we’ll just start talking about one of my horses. You can just hear the excitement he has about horse racing and that just makes me smile. It just adds to the joy of owning."

Fales will also saddle Higher Icon, who finished second to stablemate Yanque in The Plan Handicap. Her other runner in the trials is Party Time Chic, a winner against local $8,000 claimers in her last start. Leading trainer Paul Jones will saddle Party Time Chic for the owner. Over the years, the owner/trainer combination has enjoyed several major stakes winners like Grade 3 Bank of America California Championship winner New Look and California Breeders Sprint Stakes winner Forrest Fire. Lisa Anderson’s Moonie Blues, third in her trial to the PCQHA Breeders Futurity, the Fales’ Cowgirl N Up, winner of the John Deere Turf Paradise Juvenile Challeng, Brett L. Abrams’ The Bossgirl, the runner-up in the Idaho Cup Futurity, and Michael McKell’s Girl Like, the runner-up in the Intermountain Futurity, will also compete in the trials. Other top names include South Valley Futurity winner Krash Your Party and Firecracker Futurity runner-up L Bar D Classic Trip.

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The trials to the Wild West Futurity are part of an outstanding Sunday night card at Los Alamitos Race Course. The racing action will also feature an allowance event for older horses featuring Celina Molina’s multiple stakes winner Viento Negro and Ron Hartley’s Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes winner and multiple stakes placed runner My Favorite Check. This event will feature an $11,025 purse and will be contested at 300 yards.

The two standouts will also face Cypress Handicap winner First N Final, A Ransom Handicap runner-up Free Swinger, and California Breeders Sprint Stakes runner-up Chicks Fayvorite. The event will be carded as the fifth race of the night.

Trained by Juan Aleman, Viento Negro has posted some awesome racing displays at Los Alamitos. He was a daylight winner in the First Down Dash Handicap late last year and a head winner against allowance horses on August 25. The son of First Moonflash has won seven of 19 career starts.

From the barn of trainer John Cooper, My Favorite Check also enters this race after posting an allowance victory on September 16. The Favorite Cartel gelding has finished in the top three in 14 of 17 career starts, including a runner-up effort in the PCQHA Breeders Derby and third place finishes in the Vandy’s Flash Handicap and Sprint Stakes.

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Zynda Racing’s MBV MVP is one of the horses to watch on Sunday night. The gelding by Mighty B Valiant finished second in his trial to the Grade 1 All American Derby on August 20 and before that he was fourth in a $49,000 derby event also at the New Mexico-track.

While he’s only won once in 11 starts, the You and Me Partners-bred runner has hit the top three in nine of those outings and has never finished worse that fourth in his career.

Juan Aleman will saddle the runner out of the talented mare Jessica Ravin, the dam of multiple stakes winner Jess Ravin, Kansas Jackpot Futurity winner Paintyourownwagon, and Grade 2 Lovington Stakes winner Jess Cuervo, a first-crop sire this year who also qualified to the All American Futurity(G1) and Rainbow Futurity(G1) as a juvenile.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.