Graded futurity finalist Slatedtoshine is among the 34 sophomores competing in the trials for the $98,500 Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes this Sunday night.

© Los Alamitos

By Orlando Gutierrez

CYPRESS, CA–JANUARY 30, 2026–Graded futurity finalists Slatedtoshine and Sentella Olimpia, along with Los Alamitos Two Million Juvenile Invitational finalists Terry Mesu and Hell On Wheels V, are among the 34 sophomores competing in the trials for the $98,500 Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes this Sunday night.

Four trials will be contested at 350 yards, with the ten fastest horses moving on to the final on Sunday, February 22. To be eligible, horses must have been maidens as of November 1 of their juvenile campaign. Since then, 13 of the 34 participants have visited the winner’s circle at least once, with Mark Smith and Shirley Schvaneveldt’s Slatedtoshine standing as the only two-time winner in the field.

Seeing Shirley Schvaneveldt’s horse advance to the final would be a special moment, as few people have been around Los Alamitos longer. Shirley is the widow of the track’s all-time leading trainer, Blane Schvaneveldt, who won 3,982 races at the Orange County oval starting in 1968. Blane would have surely enjoyed training Slatedtoshine, who ran a solid fourth in the Governor’s Cup Futurity last June before winning twice locally. The filly by Mpshinning scored a half-length victory in her most recent outing under the tutelage of Shirley’s son-in-law, trainer Roman Figueroa. Cesar Franco will ride the Adan Paredes-bred filly from post nine in the opening heat.

The first trial features three other winners: Darioush, Ultra Wealthy, and Favorite Mojo, all sired by the notable stallion Favorite Cartel.

LA Racing Stables LLC’s Terry Mesu headlines the second trial following a fourth-place finish to Los Alamitos Winter Derby finalist Jarvis V in the Two Million Juvenile Invitational. Terry Mesu was impressive when winning locally on November 2 despite a troubled start. Jockey Fernando Olague returns to the irons from post one. Rancho El 48 LLC’s Cyber Class Act, coming off a nice November win at Lone Star, is another top contender. Christian Cardenas—a winner of 130 Quarter Horse races with over $5 million in earnings—will ride the son of Cyber Monday for James J. Gonzales II. Cardenas, whose biggest career win came in last year’s Restricted Grade 1 Remington Park Oklahoma Bred Futurity with Jamies Sin Tacha, has several mounts on this night of trials.

Trial three, the seventh race on the eight-race card, is a wide-open contest. EG High Desert Farms’ Cartel Ravin looks to secure back-to-back victories after a runaway maiden win on December 28. The Favorite Cartel gelding is out of the outstanding Grade 1-winning mare Jess Ravin. Other talented runners include J Lazy Six Ranch’s Heart On The Run, the runner-up in the Arizona QRA Futurity, and Christopher Roybal’s El Gambler J, who starts from the outside post for trainer Jaime Gomez.

The matchup of the night arrives in race eight, the final trial. The top contenders are Valeriano Racing Stables LLC’s Hell On Wheels V, who finished second to Jarvis V in the Two Million Invitational Juvenile, and Rancho El 48 LLC’s Hes No Politician, a daylight winner at 440 yards at Lone Star Park in his last start.

Hell On Wheels V, a Utah-bred gelding by Apollitical Jess, was purchased for $475,000 at the 2024 Heritage Place September Sale. Jesus Nunez will saddle the gelding, with Francisco Calderon up. Hes No Politician is also a son of Apollitical Jess; his resume includes a second-place finish in his trial for the Grade 1 Texas Classic Futurity. Gonzales II and Cardenas will join forces with him from the outside post.

EG High Desert Farms’ Sentella Olimpia also returns to action. She previously ran in the Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity, finishing an impressive third to the dashing gray filly Beuteeful. Sentella Olimpia has finished outside the top three only once—a result of stumbling badly from the rail on January 11. She starts from the rail once again on Sunday, this time with Jesus Rios Ayala in the irons.

*******************

Would you like more industry news delivered directly to your inbox? Click here to sign up.