Two berths are still available for the Grade 1 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos and will be determined by the two fastest qualifying times from the Z Wayne Griffin Directors trials on Sunday.

© Los Alamitos

LOS ALAMITOS, CA–NOVEMBER 14, 2024–With a minimum of two berths still available for the Grade 1, $600,000 Champion of Champions, a total of 11 top runners will compete in a pair of $20,000 Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trials on Sunday night at Los Alamitos.

London Toby, Empressum, Jeriko, Pattys Saint, Shakers No Secret and BP Cartel Policy are already on the grounds at Los Alamitos and have presumptive berths to the December 14 Champion of Champions.

Dashing Tres, winner of the Grade 1 All American Derby, is enjoying some rest and relaxation after a hugely successful derby campaign and has declined his Champion of Champions berth. Multiple Grade 1 winners Jess Good Wine, first in the Grade 1 Debbie Schauf Remington Park Championship, and Out Of The Way, first in the Grade 1 Albuquerque Fall Championship, have won races that carry presumptive berths but are not currently at Los Alamitos.

With all that said, two berths will be decided in Sunday’s trials, and there is a possibility of more berths opening in the coming weeks. The way to secure a spot in this year’s Champion of Champions at 440 yards will be to have the two fastest overall times in the Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trials.

Here are the horses competing in the Z. Wayne Trials:

RACE 8 - TRIAL NUMBER ONE:

One Stolin Eagle – Owned by Francisco Lopez, this will be the first-ever start at the Orange County track. He’s had a fine 2024 campaign, winning the Grade 2 SLM Big Daddy Stakes at Remington Park and running second in the Grade 3 Two Rivers Stakes at Prairie Meadows.

Cattail Cove – a finalist in the 2022 Champion of Champions and the runner-up in this year’s Go Man Go Handicap against Empressum. Owned by Link Newcomb, the Favorite Cartel gelding will be making his 50^th career start. A multiple stakes winner, he’s earned $716,870 in his accomplished career, which includes a runner-up effort in the 2019 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity.

SC Time To Run – Dunn Ranch-owned 3-year-old gelding by Apollitical Jess has won five races in eight starts this season. He’s won races at Los Alamitos, Remington Park, and Ruidoso Downs, and his stakes success included victories in the Grade 2 El Primero Del Ano Derby and Grade 2 Heritage Place Derby.

London Toby – The Ed Allred-bred gelding by Favorite Cartel is using this race as a prep for the Champion of Champions, similar to how runners like Zoomin For Spuds and Apollitical Pence would do in past years. London Toby has had a tremendous 2024 campaign, winning the Grade 1 Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship and the Restricted Grade 1 Spencer Childers California Breeders Championship Handicap.

Required First – Racing for George and Ruben Villalobos, this stud horse by First Down Dash is still looking for his first stakes win, but he’s finished second or third in six top stakes races. He was second in last year’s Grade 2 Southern California Derby and second in the 2022 Governor’s Cup Futurity. He was third to London Toby in this year’s Restricted Grade 1 Spencer Childers Championship Handicap.

RACE 9 - TRIAL NUMBER TWO:

Hooked N Gone- Owned and bred by Regina Laymon, the gelding by PYC Paint Your Wagon won the Z. Wayne last year on the way to competing in the 2023 Champion of Champions. His record includes top three finishes in last year’s All American Derby and this year’s Debbie Schauf Remington Park Championship. He has earned $547,323.

Mask Mandate – Racing for Paul Blanchard, Guadalupe Bujanda, Jose Flores, and Santos Montemayor, the sophomore gelding by Favorite Cartel, has done fine work in the derby ranks. He won the Governor’s Cup Derby and was second to BP Cartel Policy in the Grade 2 Golden State Derby. His mother, Quirky, competed in the Champion of Champions.

Price Fixer – Owned by David Hinkins, the Favorite Cartel gelding has been racing in the Intermountain region but spent his juvenile and sophomore seasons at Los Alamitos, where he raced in six stakes events. He ran in the Grade 2 El Primero last year.

Scoops Dynasty – Owned and bred by Ed and Von Zae McNelis, the son of FDD Dynasty has earned $570,039 in his career, which includes wins in the 2022 Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby and in last year’s Grade 1 Go Man Go. He’s been lightly raced this year – only three starts – but did run third to London Toby in the Grade 1 Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship.

Milagro Lady – Owned by Neale Edwards, the daughter of Rite Favorite, is the only female runner in this trial. She has earned nearly $200,000 in her racing career, highlighted by her victory in the Restricted Grade 1 New Mexico Fillies and Mares Championship Stakes.

Jess Being A Friend – The Howard Nichols home-bred is a gelding by Jess Being Valiant, who Nichols campaigned to stakes-winning success 10 years ago. The stakes-winning Jess Being A Friend ran second in the 2021 Two Million Futurity, and his record includes a total of 11 stakes appearances, most recently a third-place finish in the Grade 2 AQHA Los Alamitos Championship Challenge.

The Z Wayne Griffin Directors trials are scheduled to run on Sunday, November 17th.

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