Racing


Jasso, Magallanes, Bernard Shine On Saturday Night At Los Alamitos
Running Springs with trainer Hector Magallanes and jockey Mark Jasso.

© Scott Martinez
Jasso, Magallanes, Bernard Shine On Saturday Night At Los Alamitos

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—DECEMBER 28, 2019—The 2019-2020 racing season at Los Alamitos Race Course continued on Saturday evening with young rider Mark Jasso picking up his first ever win here and trainer Hector Magallanes continuing to build on his local resume. Here are a few quick notes on night two of the Los Alamitos season.

Mark Jasso, an up-and-coming jockey who had riding mostly at Turf Paradise since 2015, enjoyed his first ever victory at Los Alamitos when he guided Chris Philbrook's Running Springs to victory in the fifth race on Saturday.

Racing in Oregon for the first six starts of her racing career, Running Springs had finished third in the Pot 'O Gold Futurity at Sun Downs and third in the Far West Futurity at Grants Pass. The filly by Seperate Interest is out of the mare Running Bac, who won the 2002 Grade 1 Mildred Vessels Memorial Handicap.

Jasso first came into the Quarter Horse racing spotlight in 2018 following an outstanding season at Turf Paradise in which he piloted 24 winners from only 88 mounts for a win ratio of 27%. For his career, Jasso has won 48 Quarter Horse races from 311 starts with his biggest wins coming with First Lady Perry in the $48,735 Turf Paradise Futurity and with One Famous Icon in the $33,440 AQRA Derby. Now with a local win in his pocket, the young rider is off to a nice start to the new meet at Los Alamitos.

Meanwhile, Magallanes continues to deliver with his sprinters at Los Alamitos. One of the perennial leading Quarter Horse trainers in the Northwest, Magallanes has had horses in training at Los Alamitos since October of 2018. He did well here in 2019, winning with eight of his 42 starters while also saddling 15 second place finishers.

Magallanes ended last season with a winning ratio of 19% and his horses finished in the money at a 62% clip, which was the highest mark for any trainer with more than 40 starters here in 2019.

So far in this young season, Magallanes has saddled five horses resulting in a pair of wins plus two second place finishes. In other words, it's been much of the same for the native of Boardman, Oregon. After Running Springs, Magallanes' other win came with Rosh Bgosh, who is owned by his wife, Tryn Magallanes.

Trainer Lisa Bernard had her second career victory and first at Los Alamitos after sending out Radio Tim to victory in the second race on Saturday night. As the gelding by Grace Upon Grace was nearing the wire in the 870-yard race, track announcer Michael Wrona said that "Radio Tim was tuned in to the right frequency." And it was a winning tune for Bernard and owners Tom London, Terry Lovingier and Eugene Zondlo. Bernard began training last May and her first win came with Red Sacred Appeal at Santa Anita on October 10.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.