Preview Racing


Up And Coming Among 7 In James Smith Handicap Sunday At Los Alamitos
Grade 1 finalist Up And Coming will head seven head in the $20,000 James Smith Handicap on Sunday at Los Alamitos Race Course Sunday night.

© Scott Martinez
Up And Coming Among 7 In James Smith Handicap Sunday At Los Alamitos

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—APRIL 3, 2020, 2020—La Feliz Montana Ranch LLC and MRB Racing LLC’s Up And Coming, who qualified to the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity last year, is among the seven sophomores that will race in the $20,000 James Smith Handicap here on Sunday night.

The Two Million was not the only futurity that Up And Coming was a part of last year. The son of Kiddy Up also qualified to the Grade 2 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity in early October. Up And Coming was not lights out in either final, but he was outstanding in the trials for each of those futurities.

He won his PCQHRA Breeders trial by ¾ lengths and then posted an equally impressive ¾ length victory in his Two Million trial. In that 400-yard trial, Up And Coming defeated Tell Cartel, who so far this year has been the premier sophomore on the grounds with wins in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby and the Grade 3 El Primero Del Año Derby.

Up And Coming is out of Hits Keep Coming, an unraced sister to stakes winners Hot Hitter and Streak Hitter. This is also the family of champion Freaky and stakes winners Hard Hitting, Lassen County and Freaking. Toughie. Eduardo Nicasio will ride Up And Coming for 2019 AQHA champion trainer Chris O’Dell.

Ed Allred’s Sounds Good is among the strong contenders also scheduled to race in the James Smith. The Stel Corona gelding qualified to the $109,500 Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes after running second in his trial. He did well in the final, crossing the wire fourth while facing a field headed by the highly regarded Sass Mo Blue. Sounds Good will come in this race after running fourth to PCQHRA Breeders Futurity winner Sass Go Blue in a trial to El Primero Del Año Derby. Scott Willoughby will saddle Sounds Good.

The field will also feature Zoom On Jess, the winner of the Plan Handicap last year, Maximo II, an allowance winner in his last start, plus Turf Paradise Maiden Stakes winner Brockmire, Spring Favorite and Pay Me In Front.

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Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.