Preview Racing


78 Top Juveniles Ready To Compete For A Spot In Rich Ed Burke Final
Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity finalist Political Rivalry is among the 78 juveniles that will race in a full night of  trials to the Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity on Sunday night at Los Alamitos.

© William Zuazo
78 Top Juveniles Ready To Compete For A Spot In Rich Ed Burke Final

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—MAY 26, 2023—Ed Allred’s Just A Fooler and Keith Nellesen’s Political Rivalry, a pair of qualifiers to the Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity, plus impressive maiden winners Xpensive, Market Analyst, Mask Mandate, Stanley Cartel, and 21 other maiden winners are among the 78 juveniles that will race in a full night of  trials to the Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity on Sunday night at Los Alamitos.

Ten races will be contested – all of the trials at 350 yards – with first post set for 6:30 p.m. (PDT).

Trial six is among the strongest of the night as it will feature the Favorite Cartel gelding Just A Fooler, who ran a gutsy fourth in the Kindergarten on May 14, and the Jose Flores-trained Xpensive, who scored a runaway two length victory in his racing debut on April 29.

Owned by the partnership of Steve Burns, Juan Moya, Ricardo Bogarin Rodriguez, and Mark Winslow, the colt by Favorite Cartel was purchased for $132,000 at the Los Alamitos Equine Sale. His full brother is Eye On The Sky, who qualified to the 2021 Ed Burke Million.

"He did everything real professionally in his first start," Flores said. "He was a little bit green, but he got out there by himself and maybe paused for a little bit, but then he got going and finished strong. He has a different post in the trials, more to the inside. We are hoping that it doesn’t affect him, and he does the same. Hopefully he’ll have a clear head in the trials and do everything like he did in his first start."

James Glenn, Jr. trains Just A Fooler, who is a veteran of three starts, all of them strong efforts while he’s still searching for his first win. 

"He breaks good the first jump, but they seem to get away from him," Glenn, Jr. said. "I don’t know if that’s his style or if they’re just a little quicker, but he puts a strong late run. He showed a lot of guts running into a hole (in the Kindergarten) that wasn’t there. I think the extra 50 yards and having a little more experience, and the first 50 yards leaving the gate, if you put them two together, I think we could have a good night.

"He’s not that big of a horse. He’s little but he’s long. He has a long stride. He’s not that tall but he’s long. He’s able to finish pretty strong. He got in a lot of trouble in his trial, but he exploded late, got beat a head, and made the final. In the final, like I said, they outfooted him, but boy he was closing late."

Here’s a rundown of the other races that will be part of the Ed Burke trials night:

In the opening trial, Ricardo Ramirez’s Flash Dash makes his way to Los Alamitos after running second in the $82,000 Arizona Spring Futurity at Turf Paradise. In addition to that strong effort, the Apollitical Jess gelding was a winner in each of his first two starts. He was purchased for $290,000 at the Ruidoso Yearling Sale.

Other top contenders include Juniors Quarter Horses, Inc’s Ready For It, a maiden winner who was purchased for $162,000 at the Los Alamitos Equine Sale.

The second trial will be led by Parsons Ranch’s Kevins Wise Corona, a pulled away in the second half of his debut to score a ¾ length win on May 13. He came into his first start after posting an excellent 220-yard gate work in 12 flat on April 29. Allred’s Just Watch Her and Jackpot Farm’s Mr Cartel Jess are among the others racing in this trial.

A trio of recent winners will be head trial number three led by Oscar Parra’s Attacked, who won his trial to the Kindergarten Futurity by ¾ lengths. Allred’s Delightful Again and Weetona Stanley’s Stanley Cartel are the other winners. Stanley Cartel was a half-length winner in his 350-yard debut in a good time of :15.71.

Trial number four also has a trio of winners led by Dunn Ranch’s Luxury Brand, a $210,000 purchase at the Ruidoso Sale. Fulton Quien Sabe Ranches, LP.’s Hot Prodigy could also factor in a big way in this race. Levings Racing’s Favorite City is among the top names in trial five. A half-sister to the two-time Champion of Champions winner Apollitical Pence, Favorite City will start from post number, which is the same spot from where she won her debut.

Ramirez’s First Blues Man, a trial winner at Turf Paradise, and J Lazy Six Racing’s Alice Kay, who was second to Favorite City in their first racing voyage, will also be in action in race five.

Owned by the partnership of Paul Blanchard, Santos Montemayor, and Ramirez, Mask Mandate leads the seventh trial after posting a 1 ½ length win in his first start here on April 30. Dunn Ranch’s Southern Divine, who won at Remington Park before traveling to Los Alamitos, will also be in action here.

The eighth trial will include Nellesen’s Political Rivalry, who has impressed in both of his wins, but was scratched from the Kindergarten on the morning of the race. Allred’s Boardwalk, a highly regarded prospect who won his first start by head, will also race in the night. Talk Bout Somethin, who was second to Boardwalk before returning to win in her second start, is another one to watch in this heat.

Dr. Steve Burns has two solid contenders in trials nine and 10. In the ninth, he’ll be represented by Sassperilla, who was second to Talk Bout Somethin on May 6, while in the final trial he’ll have the filly Market Analyst, who recorded a 1 ½ length victory in her career unveiling. The final trial has three other winners in Cloud Burst, Next Level Up, and Heza Good Reason, the latter a half-brother to Ed Burke winner and champion Heza Dasha Fire.

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For more info' please contact larace@losalamitos.com. Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @losalracing or visit us online at www.losalamitos.com.