Unrelentless (#10) gets up over London Toby (#9) in the $135,750 Grade 1 brand McKinzie Winter Championship at Los Alamitos Sunday night.

© William Zuazo

LOS ALAMITOS, CA–FEBRUARY 16, 2025–Reliance Ranches' Unrelentless and Ed Allred's London Toby put on a show of epic proportions in the running of the Grade 1, $135,750 Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship, as the two outstanding Quarter Horses traded leads with each passing stride with a presumptive berth to the Grade 1 Champion of Champions on the line.

Unrelentless and London Toby hit the wire nearly at the exact same time before the photo finish image showed that Unrelentless had crossed the finish line 4/1000ths of a second ahead of the defending Brad McKinzie winner in the 400-yard race.

With Justine Klaiber up for trainer Eddie Willis, Unrelentless posted his fourth consecutive victory at Los Alamitos while also picking up his third stakes victory during that span.

The 4-year-old horse by Hes Relentless covered the distance in :19.568, while London Toby finished in a time of :19.572. The miniscule margin of victory is huge for the connections of Unrelentless, as he's the first horse of 2025 who can start planning for the Champion of Champions to be held here on December 13.

Trainer Eddie Willis, Paige Mays and jockey Justine Klaiber accept the Brad McKenzie Winter Championship stakes trophy. © William Zuazo

No one is happier with Unrelentless' achievements than Eddie Willis.

"This is the only horse that I really wanted someone to buy," said Willis of the $200,000 purchase at the 2022 Heritage Place September Yearling Sale. "I first went to see this horse at Flag Ranch when he was just a baby, and I knew then that I had to have him. I trained his mother as well so I knew what kind of horse he could be.

Flag Ranch, LLC bred the colt in Oklahoma from the Pyc Paint Your Wagon mare Painted Wine Wagon.

"At the sale, Gary (McKinney of Reliance Ranches) asked me to name one horse I wanted," Willis added. "I told him that I wanted this horse."

McKinney needed to know a little more about the horse, but by then Willis was convinced that Unrelentless was the one.

"Gary went ahead and said, 'Buy him,'" Willis added. "I knew that he was the one.  His mother was a nice little runner, and he was such a good-looking boy. To me, he was the total package plus he had the look."

The official win photo of the Winter Championship shows Unrelentless' (#10) razor-thin margin over London Toby (#9). © Los Alamitos Race Course

"He's been a really good horse his whole career," Willis said. "And it looks like he's going to be better this year. He can run the distance. Distance doesn't bother him. He's a good individual and runs his heart out for me. Watching the race live, I didn't think he had won, but once they showed the replay, I knew that he had it."

Klaiber wasn't sure either when Unrelentless crossed the wire.

"I just thought he ran a really good race, and he got really gritty at the end," she said. "I wasn't sure if he had won or not. I was so happy once I knew. There are no words for it."

Unrelentless earned $57,015 for the win to take his career earnings to $409,742. Willis said that his trainee will go to Oklahoma and race during the Remington Park meeting with the Debbie Schauf Remington Park Championship the main target for Unrelentless.

Jockey Justine Llaiber is all smiles after winning the Winter Championship Sunday night. © William Zuazo

Ridden by Gabriel Lara for trainer Scott Willoughby, London Toby earned $23,078 for his gutsy second place finish. With the effort, the Allred-bred son of Favorite Cartel took his career earnings to $330,134. London Toby was hoping to become only the third horse to successfully defend his Brad McKinzie title. He is out of the Walk Thru Fire mare London Laura.

Bill Price's homebred BP Cartel Policy, a three-time graded derby winner in 2024, finished third while banking $16,290. Monty Arrossa trains the Favorite Cartel gelding out of Cc Policy by Corona Cartel.

Parsons Ranch's Kevins Wise Corona finished fourth. The top four were followed by Jess Being A Friend, Tempting Barbie, Edberg Verde, Straight And True, Beduinos Favorite and Scoops Dynasty.

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For more information, please get in touch with larace@losalamitos.com. You can also follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @losalracing or visit us online at www.losalamitos.com.