Preview Racing


$50,000 Miss Princess Handicap Heads Solid 10-Race Card On Sunday Night
Strawfinders Jessee (outside) gets the nod over Jess Hawk in the Mini Rock Handicap on April 7. The pair will face off again in Sunday's $50,000 Miss Princess Handicap(G3).

© Scott Martinez
$50,000 Miss Princess Handicap Heads Solid 10-Race Card On Sunday Night

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—MAY 10, 2018—Only a nose separated C.K. and Laurel Allen’s Strawfinders Jessee and EG High Desert Farms’ Jess Hawk when they finished 1-2 in the Mini Rock Handicap on April 7.

The John Cooper-trained Strawfinders Jessee won the photo finish in the Mini Rock to record her second stakes win of the year.

The two will meet again on Sunday night when they headline a field of eight mares in the Grade 3, $50,000 Miss Princess Handicap at 350 yards. Ten races are on tap for Sunday night with first post set for 5:30 p.m.

To be ridden by Cesar De Alba, Strawfinders Jessee has been the most consistent mare on the grounds for the past six months.

During that span, the 5-year-old daughter of One Sweet Jess has won the Mini Rock and Denim N Diamonds Handicap, run second in the Grade 2 Las Damas Handicap, and third in the Grade 1 Charger Bar Handicap.

She’s also won a pair of allowance races and run fourth in the Terrific Energy Handicap to Designs For Dynasty, who’ll also be part of the Miss Princess field. Strawfinders Jessee will go after her third career stakes win and ninth win in 26 starts when she starts from post five on Sunday night.

To be ridden by Cruz Mendez for trainer Jesus Nunez, Jess Hawk, also by One Sweet Jess, has finished second or third in her last five stakes starts. That includes runner-up efforts in the aforementioned Mini Rock and Terrific Energy runnings plus in the 2017 Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby to Imaqtpie, who’ll also be in action in the Miss Princess.

Jess Hawk was third in the Grade 1 Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship earlier this year and in 2016 Holiday Handicap in her final starts of her freshman campaign. Jess Hawk will start from the outside post eight on Sunday.

Carlos Avalos’ FDD Dynasty filly Designs By Dynasty, who posted the meet’s fastest 350-yard time of :17.40 when winning the Terrific Energy on March 3, looks to return to winning ways after finishing third in the Mini Rock. Win or lose, round three of her rivalry with Strawfinders Jessee should be a good one as the Miss Princess field is loaded with top mares.

Dutch Masters III’s Imaqtpie will be making her second start of 2018 and only her third outing since winning the $225,000 Winter Derby on February 11, 2017. The One Famous Eagle ran sixth in the Vandy’s Flash Handicap last summer and did not race again until making her 2018 debut with a third place finish to stakes winner Precious Dominique in a 300-yard allowance dash on March18.

Well rested and with that outing under her belt, Imaqtpie will face top caliber mares when she starts from post sixth under jockey Jose Nicasio on Sunday night. Jaime Gomez will saddle the 4-year-old mare that he bred.

The field will also feature Ed Allred’s Tough To Figure, an allowance winner in her last start, plus Oscar Andrade and Dr. Steve Burns’ multiple Grade 1 finalist Jess Mas. Zendaya, who ran third in the Denim N Diamonds Handicap, and the allowance placed Still Friends will complete the field.

The 10-race program will also feature a pair of Quarter Horse allowance events featuring stakes level performers. The eighth race on the card – a $12,600 allowance – will have 2017 A Ransom Handicap winner Duck Dash N Go headlining against Terrific Energy third place finisher Hootin For Hotlips.

Start Somethin Bad, winner of the Grade 3 La Primera Del Ano Derby in 2017, and California Breeders Matron Stakes Maggie Durant will also be in action in this test for mares. The ninth race – an open $12,600 allowance event – will see First Down Dash Handicap winner Katies Easy Moves facing Uno Corona Mas, the winner of the Grade 2 Southern California Derby in 2016, and AJS Anna Smoke, the winner of the Governor’s Cup Futurity in 2016. El Primero Del Ano Derby finalists Maximo and Thats A Good Reason and the stakes placed invader Gronkowski will also race.

Giv Me A Good Reason completes the field. The attractive card will also see three races with 25 freshman sprinters taking as part of the Pick 6 sequence.

Names to watch include Fierce Fire, a half-sister to the aforementioned Grade 1 winner Imaqtpie, plus Hot Little Kiddy, Victorias Angel, Jess Flashee, Wreckin Ball, and Farmboy Payday.

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Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.