LOS ALAMITOS, CA—FEBRUARY 26, 2021—Martha Wells, who has been part of the Quarter Horse racing industry since the 1980s, reached the pinnacle of the sport in 2020, as she was named the AQHA Owner of the Year.

Her championship winning year came on the strength of her superstar Tell Cartel’s great year. The AQHA champion 3-year-old won three graded derbies and was second in the Champion of Champions.

Wells campaigned other top stakes runners last year, led by the two-time derby placed sprinter Old School Icon and the stakes placed hard-knocking runner Fire By Night.

The two stablemates will be in the spotlight on Sunday night, as they’ll headline the $13,500 feature at 330 yards. A total of seven quality Quarter Horses will be in action in this race, which serves at the marquee event on the eight-race card.

Under the care of Matt Fales, Old School Icon had a tremendous sophomore campaign in 2020. He was second to PCQHRA Horse of the Year Tell Cartel in the (G3) El Primero Del Ano Derby and third to PCQHRA top 3-year-old gelding Nomadic in the (G2) Southern California Derby. This will be his first outing since that solid Southern California outing.

Wells and Fales will also be represented by Fire By Night in this race, who also delivered some strong efforts on the way to being a three-time derby finalist last year. His best result was a third-place finish in the El Primero, a race in which Wells and Fales swept the top three spots thanks to Tell Cartel, Old School Icon and Fire By Night.

Five other quality sprinters will be in action in event led by newcomer Volcom Fire, who won at Ruidoso Downs and Lone Star Park during his freshman campaign in 2019. Arden Sue Floyd Family Trust and Jeremy Trujillo own the Volcom gelding, who is trained by Paul Jones. Luke Lindsey’s Dance Dakota Dance is another top contender here after hitting the board in six of his eight local starts.

The Favorite Cartel gelding enters off a maiden victory after a season in which he ran in the Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes and the Los Alamitos Adequan Derby Challenge. Quiet Talks, an allowance winner in her last start on January 2, Cartel Fire Two and Roses For A Princess will also race.

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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.