Preview Racing


Trials To $380,000 Governor's Cup Futurity On Tap For Saturday
Ruth Barbour, Colten O'Dell and Wendy O'Dell's Kindergarten Futurity(G2) finalist Tac Me Up will start in Saturday's Governor's Cup Futurity trials.

© Scott Martinez
Trials To $380,000 Governor's Cup Futurity On Tap For Saturday

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—JULY 13, 2018—The racing stables of Chris O'Dell and Scott Willoughby will be strongly represented in the trials to the $380,000 Governor's Cup Futurity on Saturday at Los Alamitos.

A total of six trials are on tap at 350 yards with the horses with the fastest times advancing to the Governor's Cup final to be held as part of a big stakes night of racing on California Breeders Champions Night, Saturday, July 28 at Los Alamitos.

O'Dell, who continues to have a strong campaign at the Orange County oval, will saddle eight runners during the trials. Quality wise, it is a great eight for the O'Dell barn. His contingent will be headed by Ed Burke Million Futurity finalist Powerful Favorite, a full brother to the likes of multiple Grade 1 futurity finalists The Revenant and Remember To Dash.

Owned by Rosenthal Ranch LLC, Powerful Favorite won his career debut by a length here on April 29 and then ran gamely against fastest qualifier SC Money Maker in their Ed Burke Million trial, Much was expected from the Favorite Cartel gelding, he was a 9-2 choice to win the million dollar race, but he became fractious during loading and then bumped at the start on the way to a seventh place finish. Eduardo Nicasio will ride Powerful Favorite in the seventh race on Saturday. O'Dell will also saddle Parsons Family Limited Partnership's Parsons Rocket in race seven, a gelding out of the great producing mare Terrific Energy. Cody Jensen will ride the son of Parsons Rocket.

O'Dell's group will also include Jess Curlin, who ran second Ed Burke Million finalist Paddy Riley, in their trial. The even money favorite in that race, Jess Curlin was an easy winner when breaking his maiden on May 20 for Parsons Ranch. Jess Curlin will headline a strong group of runners in the fourth race on the card, which serves as the opening trial to the Governor's Cup.

Next for O'Dell in race number five is Tazs Tiny Pebble, who finished fifth to Ed Burke Million Apollitical Pence in their futurity trial heat. Also sired by Parsons Rock, the filly heads a wide-open trial that will also feature Ron Hartley's Bookofmatches, a runaway 1 1/2 length winner in his last start.

Ruth Barbour, Colten O'Dell and Wendy O'Dell's Tac Me Up will be in action in race sixth and makes his first start since a very troubled sixth place finish in the Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity on May 20. Prior to that tough outing, Tac Me Up won back-to-back starts, including a great looking 2 1/4 length win in his racing debut. The talented juveniles continue for O'Dell in race eight, as he'll send out Parsons Ranch's Favorite Wise Lady from the outside post seven. She's a half-sister to the outstanding multiple stakes winner Apollitical Lady. Rocks Starlit Cruise and Jess Bein Me complete the O'Dell runners in the Governor's Cup trials.

Willoughby will also have a tremendous group of runners in action in the futurity trials. Among the big names from his group is Juan Carlos Chavez's Striver, a talented filly who has already qualified to a pair of major futurities this year. She overcame trouble in the Kindergarten futurity to finish second in that race and then made the field to the $1,060,000 Ed Burke Million final. Searching for her third futurity final, Striver will start from post seven in the opening trial while facing Jess Curlin and the Paul Jones-trained Provodnikov, who showed a ton of talent during morning works and comes in after running third in his most recent outing on June 24.

Willoughby will saddle talented runners Accomodating and No Telling for all-time leading owner and breeder Ed Allred. Willoughby has saddled two of Allred's four career Governor's Cup Futurity winners, and in Accomodating they have another horse with a big chance to shine on California Breeders Champions Night. A gelding by Walk Thru Fire, Accomodating was a solid half-length winner when breaking his maiden at second asking on June 1. He'll now start from along the rail in the fifth race on Saturday night and will be taking on Tazs Tiny Pebble and Bookofmatches.

Allred, who has won this race with Rich Lass in 1981, Way Maker in 1989, Up For It in 2013, and Discontent in 2014, will have one other solid contender in the trials in the form of the James Glenn Jr.-trained runner Hot Little Kiddy. The Kiddy Up filly could be the star of the final trial. Allred and Glenn Jr. team up with another good looking filly in Deceiver. She'll start in race six and enter following a tremendous 1 1/2 length victory on May 19. The Foose filly debuted with a solid second place finish to Powerful Favorite back on April 29.

Paul Jones, who has saddled a pair of Governor's Cup Futurity winners in the past, will saddle a solid group headed by Kindergarten finalist Cole Man 47. The Utah-bred gelding by Stel Corona showed a great late kick when winning for the first time on June 22. Prior to that he was among the several horses that endured bumping in the Kindergarten final. He finished seventh in that race. Among the other horses to watch in the trials, Martha Wells' Yoffi arrives here after finishing fourth in a $10,000 stakes race at Turf Paradise, while Hartley's Capitol Grille was easy winner on June 15.

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Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.