Fastest qualifier Fear N Fridays will face a full field in Sunday's Grade 2, $256,200 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity at Los Alamitos Race Course.

© William Zuazo

LOS ALAMITOS, CA–MAY 10, 2024–Jaime Gomez will look to add to his record number of victories in the Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity, while owner Randy Young will look to be in the Kindergarten winner’ circle for the fourth year in a row when a full field of 10 top juveniles will race in the first futurity of the meet at Los Alamitos Race Course on Sunday night.

Gomez has won a record eight runnings of the Kindergarten and the trainer will have a pair of two runners looking to make a fine nine.

Gomez will saddle Dutch Masters III’s Play Misty and Antonio Diaz’s Exploiter in the Grade 2, $256,200 Kindergarten at 300 yards. For Dutch Masters III, the famed racing operation will look to win this race for a record fifth time having celebrated after this race in the past with Secret Card, Sassy Smith, Twin Spires and the Walk Thru Fire gelding Gold Nugget Rd.

Gomez, of course, has saddled all four winners for Dutch Masters III and now Play Misty can join the list if she improves just a little off her trial victory on April 21. Bred by James Streelman and Bill Dale, Play Misty won her trial by a ½ length after taking command at the midway point of the race.

A filly by champion sire Jess Good Candy, she’ll start from the far outside post 10 while looking to become the fifth consecutive filly to win this race. The Gomez-trained La Jaconde began the streak of fillies to win this race when she graduated at the top of the Kindergarten class in 2020.

Don’t sleep on Exploiter, an Ed Allred-bred Kiddy Up filly who overcame some trouble to run second in the fastest trial to earn a spot in the final.

Trainer Monty Arrossa has saddled the last three winners of the Kindergarten with all of them being fillies in Fire Fast Honey in 2021, Valiantly in 2022 and Double Down 123 in 2023.

Randy Young and Dennis Jensen partnered with Fire Fast Honey and Valiantly while Double Down 123 raced for Young and Taos River Ranch.

Young and Jensen will now partner with Lex Fabrizio with an Ivory James gelding named Hey Wauss. The last boy to win the Kindergarten is Chayito Cartel in 2019.

Owner Keith Nellesen will be represented by a trio of Kvn Corona geldings in the Kindergarten in My Budd, Set The Edge and Zoomin On Home as he looks for his first victory in this race.

Zoomin On Home is a full brother Nellesen’s multiple graded stakes winner Political Rivalry, who won the Grade 1 Ed Burke Million and the Grade 2 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity last year. Trainer Heath Taylor will also try to win the Kindergarten for the first time.

Arrossa will also saddle the fastest qualifier in AGMW Racing’s Fear N Fridays, a Utah-bred gelding by third-crop sire Pyc Fun N Fancy. Thurston Quarter Horses-bred sprinter was ultra impressive in his trial win, scoring a 1 ¼ length victory in the top time of :15.66. James Flores will pick up the mount on the top qualifier as Armando Cervantes goes with Hey Wauss.

Trainer Eddie Willis is usually a major factor in the late season futurities at Los Alamitos. He’s now a factor in an early futurity, as he’ll saddle stablemates Cedar Hill and Freight Lyner, a pair of homebreds owned by James Sills and Abel Flores.              

Jose Luis Valdez’s Val Sofia finished third in both of her starts but she’s been quick out of the gate both times and is one of the three fillies, who by the way will all be breaking from the outside post. Exploiter in post eight, Val Sofia in the nine and Play Misty in the outside 10.

From the rail out to post seven, the inside posts look as follows: My Budd, Fear N Fridays, Set the Edge, Freight Lyner, Zoomin On Home, Cedar Hill and Hey Wauss.

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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.