LOS ALAMITOS, CA—SEPTEMBER 14, 2018—Trainer Jaime Gomez will be holding a pair of aces going into the $152,000 PCQHRA Breeders Derby after his talented fillies Moonie Blues and J Fire Up finished with the top two qualifying times in the 400-yard trials held on Saturday at Los Alamitos.

Big stars in 2017, the two fillies have continued to shine in 2018. Lisa Anderson’s Moonie Blues dominated her derby trials, as she broke on top and quickly opened a daylight advantage in the third of three trials to the Friday, October 5 final.

Ridden by Ramon Sanchez, the Anderson-bred filly by Freighttrain B covered the distance in :19.720, a time that was nearly a length faster that J Fire U’s time of :19.844.

Moonie Blues has now qualified to four derbies in 2018. In addition to the PCQHRA Breeders Derby, she’s finished third in the finals of the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby, Grade 2 Golden State Derby, and Grade 3 La Primera Del Ano Derby. She’s the first runner to make four derby finals at Los Alamitos this season. Moonie Blues won the Wild West Futurity and ran second to J Fire Up in the Two Million last year.

“We gave Moonie Blues a couple of months off after the La Primera final (on March 30),” Gomez said. “She’s come back fresh. She’s run three times since returning and all three have been pretty good races. She’s been super consistent her entire career.”

Meanwhile, J Fire Up was also a trial winner on Saturday night after defeating Black Fryday by a nose in rematch of the Governor’s Cup Derby final held on July 28.

Owned by Gomez, Darling Farms, and Ernesto Solis, J Fire Up was the AQHA champion 2-year-old in 2017 after winning the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity, Grade 1 Golden State Million Futurity and the Governor’s Cup Futurity.

The Kiddy Up filly 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. While J Fire Up improved her record to nine wins from 12 career starts, Gomez was honest in his assessment of her race.

“She didn’t break like she used to break,” Gomez said. “I don’t know why. We took embryos out of J Fire Up earlier this year and I don’t know if that’s affected her a little bit. She’s sound and beautiful. She got bumped a little bit tonight, but she did what she had to do from there. If she wins by a nose or by two lengths, it’s all the same. The win counts the same. Black Fryday beat her by (1-¾ lengths) in the Governor’s Cup Derby, but we beat him today so that’s not bad.”

Ron Hartley’s Black Fryday covered the distance in the third fastest qualifying time of :19.853. He won the Governor’s Cup Derby by daylight on July 28 and was finishing strongly in his derby trial. Eddie Garcia piloted the son of Favorite Cartel for trainer John Cooper.

Black Fryday’s stablemate, The Revenant, won the first trial by a half-length in a time of :19.921, which is the eighth fastest time of the night. Ridden by Cesar Franco for Cooper, The Revenant, was picking up his second win in six starts this season. He finished fourth in the El Primero Del Ano Derby earlier this year.

The Revenant is out of the Rainbow Futurity(G1) winner and multiple stakes producer Remember Me Rose by Corona Cartel, who is also the dam of 10th fastest qualifier, Remember The Rose, a daughter of Walk Thru Fire owned-and-bred by James Markum and Steve Burns.

For the complete list of PCQHRA Breeders' Derby(G3) finalists, times, sires, dams, owners, breeders, trainers and jockeys CLICK HERE .

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Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.