LOS ALAMITOS, CA—DECEMBER 12, 2010—Juan Alberto Tirado Lizarraga’s Apollitical Jess completed one of the greatest autumn seasons ever at Los Alamitos Race Course by winning the $750,000 Champion of Champions in track record time while also defeating a field that included World Champion Freaky and the millionaire Jess You And I, the past two winners of this race, on Saturday at the Cypress oval.

Apollitical Jess won three races at Los Alamitos since October 17, and each one was more impressive than his last. His performances built up to complete the type of resume that could very well net the son of Mr Jess Perry with the title of American Quarter Horse Racing’s world champion for 2010. Since that October start, the 3-year-old colt has set two track records at Los Alamitos, won the track’s richest derby ever, and conquered a great field of older horses to win the 39th running of the prestigious Champion of Champions.

After a hard fought summer campaign at Ruidoso Downs, Apollitical Jess returned to his home base in southern California to run in the important fall races at Los Alamitos. The Tirado Lizarraga-bred runner rose to every occasion during his stay here.

He first posted a win in his trial to the Los Alamitos Super Derby in near track record time of :19.19, but then he came back to score a 1 ½ length victory in the derby final in a 400-yard track record time of :19.13. Trained by Juan Aleman and ridden by Eduardo Nicasio, Apollitical Jess was even better in the Champion of Champions, as he broke his second track record in as many starts, this time by covering the 440 yards in :20.93. During this three-race stretch, Apollitical Jess broke Freaky’s 400-yard track record by 2/100ths of a second in the Super Derby and also Jess You And I’s 440-yard track record set in the 2008 Champion of Champions by 1/100ths of a second.

In the Champion of Champions, Apollitical Jess beat a field of giants that in addition to reigning World Champion and 2009 Champion of Champions winner Freaky and Jess You And I also included older stars like A Tempting Dash, the winner of the Grade 1 Go Man Go Handicap and restricted Grade 1 Spencer Childers California Breeders Championship Handicap, and Grade 1 winning invaders Spit Curl Diva, Feature Jess Rockin, and five-time stakes winner this season Merridoc Hawk.

“After this race, I think Apollitical Jess deserves to be the world champion,” Aleman said. “He beat the reigning world champion (Freaky) and he beat the horse that beat the reigning world champion (A Tempting Dash) and he did it in track record time. He just had back-to-back track records here at Los Alamitos and that’s not easy to do. He also beat the best older horses around. I think he should be world champion.”

The anticipated duel Freaky and Apollitical Jess was billed as the Race of the Year in Quarter Horse racing. However, their head to head matchup never quite materialized. Freaky was bumped from both sides shortly after leaving the gate, and while he made a solid run for it during the first part of the race, he faded during the second half of the Champion of Champions. Apollitical Jess, meanwhile, just kept on going towards victory. Deleyco Race Team Corp’s A Tempting Dash had a half-length lead on Apollitical Jess early on, but he could not maintain his advantage and had to settle for second place. Abigail Kawananakoa’s Divide The Cash ran a solid race throughout to finish third, while Jess You And I ran fourth and Merridoc Hawk fifth. Freaky, Feature Jess Rockin, Good Reason Sa, Spit Curl Diva and Blues Man Too completed the field.

Apollitical Jess earned $375,000 for the win to take his career earnings to $1,066,011 this year and $1,399,831 in his career. His lifetime earnings have taken him to a top 20 spot on the Quarter Horse earnings list. The sorrel colt has moved into the 19th place on the all-time earnings list. The colt may have earned his last dollar competing on the racetrack. His connections are considering retiring Apollitical Jess for a career in the breeding shed.

“We’ll now have the vet check him thoroughly to make sure that everything is okay,” Aleman added. “His owner will have to decide what he wants to do with the horse. We’ll do what is in the best interest of the horse. I would love to keep running him. He is a sound horse. He’s never had surgery. We could run him in three weeks if we wanted to, but is value in breeding is probably more than he could earn on the track. He is such a marketable horse. He will cross to everything except to his sire, Mr Jess Perry, of course.”

“We are going to take a few days to make the decision,” said Tirado Lizarraga, a fisherman and hardware store owners from Mazatlan, Mexico. “You really can’t ask for more from a horse. This is the maximum. Two track records, two Grade 1 races and he beats A Tempting Dash, Freaky and all those other great horses. I think he deserves the world champion title. Several great ranches are interested in the horse. Ranches in California, Texas and Oklahoma want him. We’ll probably make a decision in a couple of days. I’ll be in the United States until Wednesday and then I have to return home to Mazatlan, Mexico.”

“We’ll celebrate this victory and tomorrow morning we plan to go to attend Sunday service,” he added. “I am going to enjoy this win tomorrow and I’ll take some time to reflect on what just happened. I’m excited. My heart is pounding.”

According to Aleman, Apollitical Jess stands about 15 hands and his weight is at around 1,100 pounds.

“He’s well put together, but he’s not a massive horse,” Aleman added. “He got a good start tonight. Some people doubted that he could go 440 yards, but I thought that if he could stay with them early on that we could beat them late. Everything worked out perfectly.”

Young pilot Eduardo Nicasio was responsible for making sure that Apollitical Jess enjoyed the best journey possible in the Champion of Champions. He delivered in a big way.

“I realized a couple of years ago that I needed a first call rider,” Aleman said. “I was looking for someone and Eduardo caught my eye. I liked the way he sat comfortably on a horse and I made the decision to give him first call. He is still a little green because he is a young rider, but he is a hard worker and he knows my horses. He is a quiet young man who wants to win every race. He can still be a little bit too aggressive. I’ve told him that Apollitical Jess does not like the whip and the whip has cost us a few big races. He knows now to hand ride the horse. I tell him to just keep the horse straight and that he’ll give you everything he’s got. The whip may have cost this horse the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity and the All American Derby. You can see on the replays that when he feels the whip, he doesn’t like it. That happens with young riders. They want to win races and they feel that the only way to do that is to ride aggressively. Eduardo rode him great tonight.”

Aleman was saddling his fifth horse in the Champion of Champions. He finished second with Runahalf in the 2002 Champion of Champions and since then he’s had a third and a fifth with the then Tirado Lizarraga-owned champion Apollitical Time and an eighth with Takin On Spoon Man.

“I’m just happy that my win came with the son of Apollitical Time,” he added. “She was the favorite in 2006, but we had some trouble finding her a jockey and that hurt us. A Tempting Dash had us beat, we had to come and catch him. I was a little concern at the start because he slipped a little bit, but he took off once he got a hold of the track.”

Tirado Lizarraga and Aleman have their Champion of Champions win now and so does Apollitical Time. Will the world champion title be next for these connections thanks to Apollitical Jess?

Ridden by Juan Andrade for trainer Jose Flores, Deleyco Racing’s A Tempting Dash earned $120,000 for finishing second. The gelded son of First Down Dash has now earned $641,817 in his career.

Abigail Kawananakoa’s Divide The Cash earned $75,000, while Double Bar S Ranch, LLC’s Jess You And I pocketed $52,500 to take his career earnings to $1,642,971. The 6-year-old now ranks 12th in the all-time earnings list. Armando Aguirre’s Freaky, who was a slight 6-5 favorite over Apollitical Time, made $26,250 for finishing sixth.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com