Grade 1 placed filly Rockin With Energy will headline an outstanding cast in the running of the Grade 2 $193,400 Golden State Derby on Saturday night at Los Alamitos.

© William Zuazo

LOS ALAMITOS, CA–SEPTEMBER 5, 2024–Grade 1 stakes placed filly Rockin With Energy, who has been simply sensational in her last two starts, will headline an outstanding cast in the running of the Grade 2 $193,400 Golden State Derby on Saturday night at Los Alamitos.

Owned by Parsons Family Limited Partnership, Rockin With Energy posted the fastest qualifying time to the Golden State Derby after winning her trial in impressive fashion over a star-studded field on August 17.

The daughter of Parsons Rock  was bumped early in the race, but she still won the 400-yard dash by ¾ lengths while finishing ahead of Jens List Stakes winner Cheater and Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter derby winner BP Cartel Policy.

That effort followed her super win in the California Breeders Debutante Stakes on July 27 when she dominated sophomore fillies to win by a 1 ¼ length.

Rockin With Energy will enter the Golden State with a record of four wins from nine starts. She's finished out of the money only once in her career, her richest effort being a runner-up finish to multiple graded futurity winner Political Rivalry in the Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity last year.

"She broke good and finished strong and just ran a nice race," said trainer Paul Jones of her trial effort. "I was really pleased with her. She's two for two coming back off a little rest. She needed a little break. She's a great filly. She ran second in the Ed Burke and showed a lot of talent. I was a little worried because BP Cartel Policy broke in and bumped into her. I thought she was able to stay on her feet. It was two strides, and it didn't affect her."

Ridden by Henry Reynoso Lopez, the homebred filly will start from post number five in the 10-horse field.

Rockin With Energy is not the only talented filly who could upset the boys in this race.

Kolleen Ledgerwood's Cowgirl Upp was a 15-1 longshot in her trial, but the Favorite Cartel filly left sharply and was not to be denied in route to a head victory over Parsons Ranch's Ed Burke third place finisher Kevins Wise Corona.

This will be Cowgirl Upp's third outing of the year after also running fourth in the Debutante against Rockin With Energy. Bred by David and Leah Nelson, Cowgirl Upp is the daughter of Favorite Cartel and out of the Grade 1 stakes winner Kiddy Up Cowgirl.

Jesus Rios Ayala will pilot Cowgirl Upp for trainer Cesar De Alba from post number one.

Double Bar S Ranch's homebred Threes Company, who ran third to Rockin With Energy in the trials, is the other filly in this race. Trained by Elana Andrade, the Oklahoma-bred by Tres Seis is making her stakes debut, but she's finished in the top three in six of her nine career starts. Rodrigo Aceves will ride her from post number two.

Bill Price's BP Cartel Policy entered his Golden State Derby trial regarded as the top sophomore on the grounds. The Favorite Cartel gelding had posted three perfectly run victories and his record for the meet included a ¾ length win in the Winter Derby and a 2 ½ length win in the Dillingham Handicap.

All signs pointed to BP Cartel Policy as the favorite to have the fastest qualifying time, but instead he battled through a rough start on the way to running a shocking fifth in his trial. To his credit, BP Cartel Policy still posted the eighth fastest qualifying time to give him a chance to make amends in the final. Armando Cervantes will ride the Price-bred runner for trainer Monty Arrossa from post number four.

Jose Flores, Robyn Gordon, and Ricardo Rodriguez's Kickin Famous was impressive in winning his trial by ¾ lengths. Third time could be the charm for the son of One Famous Eagle, as this will be appearance number three for him in a derby at Los Alamitos. Irving Lara gets the call on Kickin Famous for the Flores-trainee.

Flores will also saddle Mask Mandate, the Governor's Cup Derby winner he owns in partnership with Paul Blanchard, Guadalupe Bujanda, and Santos Montemayor. Sired by Favorite Cartel and out of the AQHA Racing champion mare Quirky, Mask Mandate won the Governor's Cup by ¾ lengths at 14-1 odds before returning with a hard-trying effort to finish fourth to top qualifier Rockin With Energy in the trials.

Ed Allred's Cheater, who has looked really good during his sophomore campaign, draws the outside post and looks like a runner ready to shine at the highest level. The Favorite Cartel gelding won his first two starts of the year by impressive margins and was one of the strongest finishers when running second to Rockin With Energy in their Golden State Derby trial.

The stallion Kvn Corona will be represented by Think Again Kev and Kevins Wise Corona in this derby, both runners entering the final after running second in their respective trials. Jim Schlagel's Optical Illusion, who has built an impressive record of qualifying for the stakes final, will make his sixth appearance in a graded race when he starts from post number three here.

The Golden State Derby is the eighth race on the Saturday night card here with its post time for 9:52 p.m. (Pacific).

The field from the rail out is as follows:

1. Cowgirl Upp
2. Threes Company
3. Optical Illusion
4. BP Cartel Polic
5.  Rockin With Energy
6. Kickin Famous
7. Think Again Kev
8. Mask Mandate
9. Kevins Wise Corona
10. Cheater

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