Project Leader, ridden by Ricardo Ramirez, wins the Summer Stakes at 1,000 Yards at Los Alamitos on Sunday

© Los Alamitos

LOS ALAMITOS, CA–JUNE 23, 2024–Exactly five years since he broke his maiden at Pleasanton in 2019, James Crotts’ Project Leader is officially the new king of the 1,000-yard division at Los Alamitos following an impressive win in the $35,000 Summer Stakes here on Sunday night.

Ridden by Ricardo Ramirez from post number seven, Project Leader went for the lead right from the start, dueling briefly with Piper’s Causeway before moving ahead of him in the backstretch and beginning to pull away from the other horses in the race.

At the top of the turn, the California-bred by Run Brother Run had a 2 1/4 length lead on Ann McCurdy and Brian Pitnick’s Proud Veteran, and he would not be challenged from there en route to a two-length victory. The 7-year-old gelding is now a perfect five-for-five at Los Alamitos in 2024, with every one of his wins coming at the 1,000-yard distance.

"He’s a horse for the course," said Crotts, who owns and trains Project Leader. "We leave him here. I run a lot in Arizona and New Mexico, but he likes it here. I just leave him here because he really likes it. He likes the day meet; he likes the night. He’s just a really nice horse."

A horse for the course is for sure. Project Leader has started 49 times in his career, and 18 of his 19 victories have been at Los Alamitos. Three of those wins have come over the daytime oval here, while 14 have been at 1,000 yards dating back to April 26, 2020. He’s also won once at 870 yards at Los Alamitos, and his only win outside of the Cypress track was his maiden victory at Pleasanton precisely five years ago on June 23, 2019. Project Leader earned $19,250 for winning the Summer Stakes, taking his career bankroll to $229,771.

The winning connections of Project Leader accept the $35,000 Summer Stakes trophy at Los Alamitos on Sunday. © Los Alamitos

Project Leader has been particularly tough since Crotts decided to put the blinkers back on. He’s won six of his last seven starts since the equipment change was made.

"They (were) off, and we put him back on," Crotts said. "He had a few little problems last year, a little bit us, but we got him over them. He’s just been real good here."

The blinkers have helped Project Leader become unpassable once he’s taken the lead heading into the stretch for home. When Crotts saw Project Leader with lead around the turn, he knew his horse had won the race.

"It was over," he said. "When he hits the head of the lane, he gets better. I don’t plan on taking him away from here. We run elsewhere, but he likes it here, so we’re going to leave him."

Project Leader will look to start earning points for the richer $50,000 Winter Final on December 8.

Trained by Brian Pitnick and ridden by Diego Herrera, Project Leader earned $7,875 for running second. He’s finished first or second in 10 of his 23 career starts. Battle Born Racing’s Piper’s Causeway was solid throughout and held third under jockey Edgar Payeras and trainer Jesus Uranga. Piper’s Causeway earned $4,375 for his effort. Perfect D, Dream Robber, Wegonahavagoodtime, Famous Star, Hogmanay, Lawless World, and Vinny The Coin completed the field.

Jesus Uranga’s Sweet Sonny became a two-time stakes winner at 1,000 yards at Los Alamitos after the 7-year-old Kentucky-bred mare by Twirling Candy won the $30,000 Fillies & Mares Summer Stakes at this distance by 1 1/4 lengths over William Heck’s Dancing Soul.

Sweet Sonny’s first stakes win in this division came in the Winter running of 2022. Similarly to Project Leader, Sweet Sonny loves the Orange County track, as seven of her eight wins have come here. Six have been at the nighttime oval, while one came during the daytime meet. She also won at Santa Anita in October of 2021. Her Summer Stakes victory came with Edgar Payeras up at 18-1.

The effort was vintage Sweet Sonny, as she had won here four times here in 2022 before picking only one victory in six outings last year while also racing out of state.

"I took her to Turf Paradise looking for some stakes races for her there," Uranga said. "But we didn’t participate in stakes. I was running her in allowance races and even claiming races, running her for $12,500. She lost some weight and some conditioning, so she came back. She’s been feeling really good, and I thought that she might be able to do something. She gave us the surprise."

Sitting second for the first 660 yards, Sweet Sonny began to make her move around the turn and eventually took the lead away from Dancing Soul in the stretch run to win for the eighth time in 37 career starts. Sweet Sonny earned $16,500 for the win, taking her career earnings to $177,483. Shanghai Sunrise finished third and was followed by Time To Smile, Runaway Sally, Mylittlerunaway, Coruscation, and Island Life. Coruscation’s out of the money finish was a surprise, as she had finished second in stakes events at 1,000 yards three previous times, including against Sweet Sonny in the 2022 Winter Stakes.

"She never really runs on the inside," said Uranga, who also owns and trains Coruscation.  "She tried hard but was too close to the rail and was never able to catch up. She’s a good (mare). We won the race with the other one."