Muscle Max, ridden by Rodrigo Aceves, wins the sixth race at Los Alamitos on Saturday night.

© Los Alamitos

by Orlando Gutierrez

LOS ALAMITOS, CA–APRIL 13, 2025–Led by Gary Laramie’s Muscle Max, four juvenile standouts enjoyed winning debuts during a busy night of Quarter Horse racing on Saturday night at Los Alamitos. Muscle Max was the star of the night, as the colt by Seperate Interest won the meet’s first race at 300 yards while facing what on paper appeared to be the strong group of 2-year-olds assembled for a race so far this season.

Ridden by Rodrigo Aceves, one of the all-time winningest Quarter Horse riders at Los Alamitos, Muscle Max won the sixth race of the night by 1/2 lengths over Newcomb Racing’s Cattail Coast. Trained by Elena Andrade, Muscle Max covered the 300 yards in :15.674 in the faster of the two races held at 300 yards on Saturday.

Bred by Oscar Andrade and Steve Burns, Muscle Max is out of the top producer Corona Mas Fina, who is the mother of the multiple stakes placed mare Jess Mas and 2017 Southern California Derby winner Uno Corona Mas.

Four juveniles, Muscle Max, Heavily Favored, Mw Bcause Im First and Cd Lady With Class win on Saturday night at Los Alamitos © Los Alamitos

Twenty-three minutes after the Apollitical Jess gelding Cattail Coast posted a game runner-up effort to Muscle Max, Newcomb Racing enjoyed another strong effort by one of its promising juveniles, as the Favorite Cartel colt Heavily Favored won the seventh race by 3/4 lengths.

Ridden by Martin Arriaga for trainer Juan Aleman, Heavily Favored took the lead shortly after the start and cruised to victory in this 300-yard dash in :15.836. Bred by James Markum and Steve Burns, Heavily Favored is out of Remember the Rose, a three-time winner and $67,583 earner who ran in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity in 2017.

Juvenile fillies were in the spotlight in the other races for 2-year-olds. Nancy Wells and Larry Marcum’s homebred Mw Bcause Im First posted the most lopsided victory among the four young winners, as she flew from post number four and was never in challenge in route to a 2 1/2 length win at 220 yards. Ridden by Armando Cervantes, Mw Bcause Im First covered the distance in :12.122 to give Ramiro Castillo his first training victory. 

Mw Bcause Im First is a filly by Marcum and Wells’ stallion B Cause Im A Hero, who ran second to Empressum in the Grade 1 Texas Classic Derby in 2021. Mw Bcause Im First dam is the Brazilian-bred mare Blazen Alena, whose family includes Sunland Park stakes winner One Lethal Blaze.

CD Horses Inc’s CD Lady With Class won her debut by a neck while covering the 220 yards in :12.221. With Eduardo Nicasio up for trainer Jaime Gomez, CD Lady With Class won a neck victory. Bred by Cesar Dabdoub, CD Lady With A Class is a Foose filly out of Jessa Lady Cee, who finished in the money in seven of nine starts and is out of Lady Jane Cee, a mare bred by the late R.D. Hubbard, who will always be remembered as one of the giants in the history of Quarter Horse racing.

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