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Zoomin For Spuds Plus Two Racing Millionaires Head Go Man Go Handicap On Sunday
Jim Walker's Zoomin For Spuds will go after the 10th stakes victory at Los Alamitos when he heads a talented field in the 58th running of the Grade 1, $100,000 Go Man Go Handicap on Sunday.

© Scott Martinez
Zoomin For Spuds Plus Two Racing Millionaires Head Go Man Go Handicap On Sunday

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—SEPTEMBER 1, 2018—Jim Walker's Zoomin For Spuds will go after the 10th stakes victory of his career at Los Alamitos when he heads a talented field of older horses in the 58th running of the Grade 1, $100,000 Go Man Go Handicap on Sunday at Los Alamitos.

The field will also include 2017 champion 3-year-old and millionaire Hold Air Hostage and He Looks Hot, who has also earned over a million in his racing career.

Zoomin For Spuds has previously won the Grade 1 Champion of Champions and the Grade 1 Vessels Maturity and a victory in the Grade 1 Go Man Go Handicap would make him only the sixth horse to win all three of those major races.

The others to win the Champion of Champions, Vessels Maturity, and Go Man Go over the course of their careers are Charger Bar, Denim N Diamonds, Whosleavingwho, Freaky, and Last To Fire. All but Denim N Diamonds were crowned AQHA World Champion at some point in their racing careers.

Zoomin For Spuds has developed into one of the top horses in recent memory at Los Alamitos. The Idaho-bred gelding by Zoomin For Bux upset Heza Dasha Fire to win the Champion of Champions in 2016 on the way to being named the AQHA champion 3-year-old gelding.

His victory in the 440-yard classic was the exclamation point on a season that saw him win six stakes races at Los Alamitos. As a 2-year-old, Zoomin For Spuds won the Wild West Futurity and this year he's won the Moonist Handicap and the Vessels Maturity on July 8.

"He's an incredible animal," said trainer Monty Arrossa. "He lays it on the line every time. He has a big heart. He had a lot of trouble in the (Vessels Maturity) trials, but he bounced back. I have to give a lot of credit to his groom, Filaberto Alvarado. He's done a great job. They cut him up a little big in the trials in the hind legs and (Alvarado) was on top of it, taking extra good care of him. The horse responded very well."

With his victory in the Vessels Maturity, Zoomin For Spuds earned a berth to the Champion of Champions for the third straight year. After winning the race in 2016, Zoomin For Spuds ran third to 60-1 longshot winner Mr PYC To You in last year's running.

"Qualifying to the Champion of Champions can take its toll on you," Arrossa said. "We didn't qualify Zoomin For Spuds to last year's race until the very end. You're always thinking about the next one. It can be tough. It's good to now know that he's in the race."

Jesus Rios Ayala will ride Zoomin For Spuds from post number three. Ayala has ridden him a total of 12 times and they've finished in the money in 11 of those races. They've won three stakes races together, including the Champion of Champions.

Darling Farms' Hold Air Hostage broke like a rocket in this Los Alamitos debut on August 11 in the Bank of America California Championship Challenge at 440 yards. The Apollitical Jess gelding had a 1 ¼ length lead in the race, but was caught in the final yards by BH Lisas Boy to finish second by a nose. It was a tough loss for Hold Air Hostage's connections, but they remain confident.

"The horse is doing outstanding," Gomez said. "I think (jockey) Jose Nicasio thought the horse had the race won, but BH Lisas Boy came flying late. It happens. We're ready."

Nicasio will pilot Hold Air Hostage from post number eight. Hold Air Hostage, the winner of the 2017 All American Derby, has won nine of 14 starts and earned $1,335,801 in his career.

Ed Allred's He Looks Hot will be making his first start since January 21. Allred, the sport's all-time leading owner and breeder, rates He Looks Hot highly for his talent and makeup.

"He's in a special category," Allred said of the 6-year-old gelding by Walk Thru Fire. "He's not the best horse that I've owned by any means, but he's certainly a nice horse. His brother (stakes winner Once Over) is 8-years-old and continues to run at a high level. (He Looks Hot) has had three abdominal surgeries. I've never had a horse that even had one abdominal surgery that came back. He's certainly a special horse. He's not like Charger Bar or Cocos Kid or some of my other top horses, but he's certainly a special horse. He's made more money than any other horse that I've ever raced, but in the old days a horse like Charger Bar would race for $10,000 at a time."

He Looks Hot won the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity in 2014, the Vessels Maturity in 2016, and the Restricted Grade 1 Spencer Childers California Breeders Championship Handicap last year. He'll enter the Go Man Go with $1,104,684 in career earnings. Carlos Huerta will pilot him from post number six.

Darling Farms, Gomez, and Valeriano Racing Stable, LLC's LD Is Back, second to Heza Dasha Fire in the Spencer Childers on July 28, and A1A Racing LLC's Tarzanito, third in this year's Vessels Maturity and Spencer Childers, are among the other top older horses in this race. The field will be completed by multiple graded derby winner Rite Regal, Kaweah Bar Handicap winner Royaltys Authority, multiple graded stakes placed runner Kissed By An Eagle, 2016 Governor's Cup Derby winner Unclaimed Dividend, and multiple stakes placed runner Chicks Fayvorite.

The Go Man Go does not offer a direct berth to the Champion of Champions, but it is one of the alternative ways for a horse to qualify to the race. If a horse wins multiple races with berths to the Champion of Champions or if a horse is not able to run in the Champion of Champions, then the winner of the Go Man Go could make his way into the field of the 440-yard classic.

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Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.