Listen Now is one of six sophmores vying for their first stakes victory on Saturday in the $30,000 James Smith Memorial Handicap at Los Alamitos.

© Los Alamitos

LOS ALAMITOS, CA–APRIL 3, 2025–There will be a new name added to the all-time list of stakes winners at Los Alamitos Race Course as six sophomore will look to pick up their first ever bold type victory in the running of the $30,000 James Smith Memorial Handicap at 350 yards in Saturday’s ninth race.

The field will include a pair of horses with stakes experience, as the Marc Jungers-trained Invasive competed in the $100,000 Ruidoso Juvenile Invitational last year. Meanwhile, Ed Allred’s Listen Now qualified to the Restricted Grade 1 Governor’s Cup Futurity here last July.

Owned by a partnership, Invasive was second in the Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes on February 23 and was a maiden winner here last November. His other top efforts include a second-place finish in a trial to the Grade 1 All American Futurity and runner-up efforts in his trial to the Grade 1 Ruidoso Futurity and Grade 1 Rainbow Futurity.

Listen Now was second in his Governor’s Cup Futurity trials and in his most recent start he was third behind local stakes winners Train B Taka and Brown Coffeee in a trial to the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby.

Eddie Willis, the meet’s leading Quarter Horse trainer, will saddle Holmybeeranwatchthis, who has won his last two starts, and The Gold N One, a January winner here. The Jungers-trained EBW Kye and Barry Woodhouse’s Jess Flaming will complete the field.

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Ryan Hanson is having a simply sensational season at Los Alamitos. Hanson, who trained locally for many years, before moving his main stable to a part of the Southern California Thoroughbred racing circuit has become a notable part of the mixed-breed and Thoroughbred ranks here at night.

The results have been out of this world, as his horses have amassed 11 victories from 17 starts for a win ratio of 64.7%. In addition to the victories, Hanson’s horses have also finished second four times to give him 15 top two finishes from 17 starts for an incredible in the money figure of 88.2%.

Hanson will look to bolster his numbers as he’ll saddle top contenders Gantry in race three and Ur In Trouble in race four. Both horses are scheduled to be ridden by Armando Aguilar.

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