LOS ALAMITOS, CA—JULY 27, 2018— Led by AQHA champion millionaires Heza Dasha Fire and J Fire Up plus 13 other stakes winners, and more than 50 additional runners with previous stakes racing experience, California's best Quarter Horses will get together to be a part of a great night of racing action in the 19th running of California Breeders Champions Night on Saturday at Los Alamitos.

The 12-race card will feature 11 stakes races and will include three Pick Four wagering opportunities. First post time is 7:15 p.m. (PDT).

The racing action will be headed by the running of the $380,000 Governor's Cup Futurity featuring Parsons Ranch's fastest qualifier Parsons Rocket and Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity runner-up Striver. The card will also include the $203,000 Governor's Cup Derby with Darling Farms, Ernesto Solis and Jaime Gomez's J Fire Up one of the top contenders in this race.

The Gomez-bred and trained runner earned $1,430,411 in 2017 to set the highest single season earnings figure for a filly or mare in Los Alamitos Race Course history. Named the AQHA champion 2-year-old and champion 2-year-old filly in 2017, J Fire Up has won eight of 10 career starts including her derby trial on July 15. That was also her first outing of 2018. "She came out of the race better than how she was doing going into the race," Gomez said. "She's doing perfect. I've liked everything about her since that race. We've taken her to the gates and she just looks so happy and comfortable. She's settled in nicely."

The derby field will also feature Martha Wells' Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby runner-up Yanque and Ron Hartley's Grade 3 El Primero Del Ano Derby runner-up Black Fryday. Fortuna Properties, Inc.'s Ditto Head, a veteran of five stakes races including the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity and Los Alamitos Winter Derby, is the fastest qualifier going into the derby on Saturday night.

Trained by Mike Casselman, he won his trial by a half-length in a time that was 2/10ths of a second faster than J Fire Up.Abigail Kawananakoa's Chance To Fire is another top runner in the derby. He ran in both the Ed Burke and Grade 1 Golden State Million last year.

"Chance To Fire is one of my all-time favorite horses," O'Dell said. "The Governor's Cup Derby trial was his first race of the year and first off of knee surgery. In my eyes, I feel like he should be one of the top horses in the derby."

The field from the rail out is: Casino Baccarat, My Favorite Cartel, Ditto Head, Unblemished, Chance To Fire, Dont Foose With Me, One More Cigarr, J Fire Up, Black Fryday, and Yanque.

Heza Dasha Fire, Kiddy Up Cowgirl Among Stars In Childers, Matron Stakes

No one will be cheering louder for any horse on Saturday night than Kathy Meneely for the great champion Heza Dasha Fire in the $100,000 Spencer Childers California Breeders Championship Handicap for 3-year-olds and upward.

"My family tells me to root in my heart," Kathy said laughing. "But it doesn't work that way with me. It just comes out. You'll hear me cheering for Heza Dasha Fire on Saturday."

The now 6-year-old gelding by Walk Thru Fire has given Meneely's S-Quarter K LLC plenty to celebrate. The homebred superstar has won 15 of 21 starts, including the 2015 Champion of Champions, and his $2,167,987 make him the third richest Quarter Horse of all-time. He's also the leading active money winner in the sport and Saturday's Spencer Childers will represent his 2018 debut. Jose Flores will saddle Heza Dasha Fire, who'll be ridden by Cruz Mendez.

"We're excited to see him back in action," Meneely said. "It's been a long time from December (when he ran second in the Champion of Champions) to the end of July. We do have an aggressive schedule with him from here on out. After the Childers, we'll point him to the AQHA California Challenge in two weeks and then the Go Man Go Handicap in early September. He only ran four times last year, so for us to run him with that sort of schedule is pretty rare. But he's stronger, bigger, and has put on some muscle. He's also 6-year-old so he's a very mature horse, but he's also fresh. Having said all of that, we'll do what's right for the horse. We'll make adjustments as we need to.

"We're anxious and nervous and wondering how he'll come back," she added. "We've got our fingers crossed. I would hope the stride is still there and however he does it so amazingly, I hope he can continue to do it."

The Spencer Childers will also feature Kaweah Bar Handicap winner Royaltys Authority, Vessels Maturity third place finisher Tarzanito, and multiple Grade 1 finalists Katella Deli and LD Is Back, the latter two from the Jaime Gomez-barn.

"I made a change with LD Is Back," Gomez said. "I took out the ring bit halter. I like that he has post number six."

The top mares on the grounds will get together in the $40,000 Matron Stakes led by multiple stakes winners Kiddy Up Cowgirl, Thermonuclear Energy, Jess Hawk, and Strawfinders Jessee, plus defending stakes champion Maggie Durant. The big showdown could come down to Kiddy Up Cowgirl, Thermonuclear Energy, and Jess Hawk, all major players in Grade 1 races this year. Racing for Leah and David Nelson, the daughter of Kiddy Up won the Grade 1 Charger Bar Handicap over Thermonuclear Energy on January 7 before going to the breeding shed.

"She went out and gave us some embryos," trainer James Glenn Jr. said. "She now has two babies in the oven. She's come back nicely. She's stronger and bigger and more mentally relaxed. She's settled in nicely. Leah and David bought her last year and they really appreciate this mare. They've been in this game for a lifetime and they understand how hard it is for a horse like this to come by. They appreciate her and are really enjoying the moment."

Parsons Family Limited Partnership's Thermonuclear Energy has won the Ivan Ashment Handicap on June 23 after some time off following her second place finish in the Charger Bar. Trainer Chris O'Dell is looking forward to seeing the Walk Thru Fire mare back in action.

"If I could have picked her starting spot, I would have picked the number seven post, which is what she has tonight," O'Dell said. "She's one of those horses that makes you feel like you always have a shot. She's like (AQHA champion) Catchmeinyourdreams in that way. I always felt like I had a chance to win with him and she's the same way. I lead her up to the race, I know that she's going to make them run. It's nice to know that."

Ten juveniles will be in action in the $25,000 California Breeders Freshman Stakes for colts and geldings headed by the Ed Burke Memorial Juvenile winner Ali Babe Foose, while Hard Headed Chick and Just Walk By, runner-up in major stakes races in their careers, will lead the $25,000 Debutante Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. The Revenant, third in last year's Governor's Cup Futurity, is now the headliner in the $25,000 Jens List Jr. Memorial Stakes for 3-year-old males. Lucky Seven Ranch's Lotta Blues Man, a Grade 1 winner of $943,221, is the marquee name in the Sprint Stakes for older horses.

He'll face 2016 Southern California Derby winner Uno Corona Mas and the stakes placed Chicks Fayvorite. The 550-yard Stakes will be headed by Newport Coaster, a specialist at this distance, plus graded stakes finalists Well Good, Rockin Asteroid, and Myfavoritestreaker.

California Breeders Champions Night is the product of joint cooperation between the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association and track management at Los Alamitos.

O'Dell Has A Full House Heading Into Governor's Cup Futurity

With half of the field to the $380,000 Governor's Cup Futurity qualifying from his stable, trainer Chris O'Dell is looking forward to the 350-yard dash.

"There are still a few in there that we have to beat, but we're excited to be in the position that we are in," O'Dell said. "All five of our horses are doing well. They drew on top of each other with Tac Me Up in the six post, Jess Bein Me in the seven, Powerful Favorite in the eight and Favorite Wise Lady in the nine. I don't know if that's good or bad. I guess we'll find out on Saturday."

The fastest qualifier to the Governor's Cup Futurity is the O'Dell-trained Parsons Rocket, who outdueled stablemate Powerful Favorite by a nose when setting the top time of :17.58. Owned by Parsons Family Limited Partnership, the gelding by Parsons Rocket will start from post number three while searching for his third win in five career starts.

"The biggest thing with Parsons Rocket is getting him to relax," O'Dell said. "He can get a little hot. The last time (in the trials) he behaved perfectly. He didn't even break a sweat. He was pretty cool the entire time and ended up running a great race. We haven't galloped him as much and instead we've been ponying him and he's been thriving with that plan. He had the outside post eight in the trials, but he still had to run a big race and win. He's really come around nicely."

O'Dell would not be surprised to see Favorite Wise Lady show a lot of improvement as well in the Governor's Cup. "She's been lightly raced having made only two starts so she can improved a bit. With the others, we've seen what they are and they've all done well, but with Favorite Wise Lady I think there's still room for her to get better. Cody Jensen will be aboard."

Rosenthal Ranch LLC's Powerful Favorite ran in the Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity last month and will now make his second stakes outing with Eduardo Nicasio aboard. Even before the running of the Ed Burke Million, O'Dell felt that the most important element when it came to Powerful Favorite was his ability to improve leaving the gate.

"He's getting a little better at doing that," O'Dell said. "It just takes him three or four jumps to really get going. You can't teach speed. You need that athletic ability. Horses don't get faster, but they get better when they figure things out. My job is to help them figure it out. All five of my horses are getting better and I feel that they're all peaking a little bit right now. Rosenthal Ranch's Jess Bein Me is another horse that is improving. He's done better with each race."

Shannon Demler, Howard Nichols and Thompson Racing Inc.'s Provodnikov won his trial by a head and has now improved in each of his last two outings. "He showed some talent in his works," trainer Paul Jones said. "In his first race he had a bad break and got run over. In his second race he drew the outside and made a right hand turn out of the gates. In his third race, in the trials, he finally ran like the horse we thought he was out of his works. It was his second start since being gelded. His attitude (since being gelded) has been a lot better. Sometimes we give them the benefit of the doubt and leave them a colt, but when the part of being a colt gets in the way of his racing and he's not going to make a great racehorse being a colt, then it's time to make them a racehorse and not a stallion prospect."

Provodnikov will be looking for another big racing effort on Saturday. Juan Carlos Chavez's Striver, the runner-up in the Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity, Ed Allred's Hot Little Kiddy, Steve Burns' You Caught My Eye, and EG High Desert Farms' Anas Image will complete the field.  

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.