LOS ALAMITOS, CA—JANUARY 18, 2018—Six standouts that competed in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity on December 17 plus two other Grade 1 finalists are among the 40 sophomores that will race in the trials to the Grade 1 $215,450 Los Alamitos Winter Derby on Saturday at Los Alamitos.

First post is 6 p.m. The horses with the 10 fastest times in the 400-yard trials will move on to the Winter Derby final to be held here on Saturday, February 10.

The Winter Derby trials will be headed by a pair of outstanding Grade 1 placed fillies in the form of Lisa Anderson’s Moonie Blues and EG High Desert Farms’ Matilda Czech.

Trained by Jaime Gomez, Moonie Blues finished second to stablemate and champion 2-year-old J Fire Up in the rich Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity final. The homebred Freighttrain B filly also won the Wild West Futurity last year, doing so from post number eighth, which is also the post where she’ll be racing from in the third of five trials on Saturday. Eduardo Nicasio will ride the Washington-bred.

Now trained by Lorenzo Campuzano, the homebred Matilda Czech will be in action in the second trial of the night. The Fast Prize Cartel filly was second by an eyelash to the aforementioned J Fire Up in the Grade 1 Golden State Million Futurity.

She also ran a solid fourth in the Los Alamitos Two Million final. To be ridden by Cruz Mendez, Matilda Czech was a perfect three for three in trials to Grade 1 races last year. She’ll be facing Two Feathers Series, LLC’s Scoopie Jess and Billy Absher and Leland Decker’s exciting filly Chowchilla Chickadee in this trial. Scoopie Jess was fifth in the Two Million final, while Chowchilla Chickadee won her first three starts by daylight before running third in the Corona Chick Handicap on November 18.

The opening trial, which is the fourth race on the card, will feature Two Million finalist Ditto Head, a Foose gelding owned by Fortuna Properties and trained by Mike Casselman. Ditto Head had a very troubled trip in the Two Million.

He had previously scored a 3/4-length victory to qualify to the rich futurity. Cesar Gomez will ride him from post number four. Ed Burke Million Futurity finalist Apollitical Stone and the stakes placed Tustin Kid are the other top names in the first heat.

Moonie Blues is not the only Two Million finalist in the third trial of the evening. She’ll be joined by Mark and Peggy Brown’s multiple Grade 1 finalist Jess My Kiss. The Idaho homebred by One Sweet Jess was seventh in the Two Million and like Ditto Head, she had a very troubled journey. Cesar De Alba will ride.

Steve Burns and James Markum’s Remember The Rose is the other Two Million graduate racing in the Winter Derby trials. The Walk Thru Fire filly will head the fourth trial of the night. Her half-sister Remember To Dash, who qualified to the Grade 1 Golden State Million final, will head the fifth and final heat.

She’ll have to deal with multiple stakes winner and rising star Jesstacartel, who blew away a nice field by 2 ¼-lengths in the Corona Chick. Owned by Lesley Joyner and trained by Mark Skeen, Jesstacartel has won his last four starts. She is also a by One Sweet Jess.

Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity Fire And Sass and PCQHRA Breeders Futurity finalist Rockin Asteroid will also race.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.