Dutch Masters III's Higher Fire is just one win away from becoming the first horse to win the Los Alamitos Bonanza, the track's version of the Triple Crown, after posting the sixth fastest qualifying time to the $1,500,000 Los Alamitos Million Futurity on Friday night.

Higher Fire will earn a total of $1,597,600 if she wins the Los Alamitos Million on Friday, December 9. Her connections will make $597,600 for winning the Million, plus they'll earn a $1 million bonus for winning the three races that make up the Bonanza. Those three races are the Ed Burke Million Futurity, the Golden State Million Futurity and the upcoming the Los Alamitos Million Futurity.

"We feel blessed to have a chance to win the Bonanza," said Dr. James Streelman of Dutch Masters III.

"We were nervous the whole night," added Dutch Masters III's Denny Boer. "It's going to be a great race."

Millionaire Teller Cartel, the winner of the All American Futurity, will be the horse to beat after posting the fastest qualifying time of :19.535. He even posted a 1-1/4 length win over Higher Fire in their trial heat. Teller Cartel had previously defeated Higher Fire in the Golden State Million trials before the Walk Thru Fire filly came back to win the Golden State Million final on November 4.

The complete list of qualifiers is as follows; Teller Cartel (:19.535), Love My Corona (:19.565), Value The Man (:19.59), Finding Nemo (:19.62), He Storms (:19.695), Higher Fire (:19.74), Ynot Bar (:19.765), Cut The Snow (:19.79), Wanta Dubloon (:19.795) and Shesnowlady (:19.80).

Eighty-four horses competed in 10 trials to the $1,500,000 Los Alamitos Million Futurity to be contested on Friday, December 9. The horses with the 10 fastest times in the trials moved on to the Grade 1 400-yard finale. A trial by trial look at the Million Futurity heats follow below:

1. Teller Cartel :19.535

For the second straight time, All American Futurity winner Teller Cartel got the better of superstar Higher Fire in a futurity trial, this time defeating the winner of the Ed Burke and Golden State Million futurities by 1 1/4 lengths when posting the fastest qualifying time of :19.535 to the Grade 1 $1.5 million Los Alamitos Million Futurity. Teller Cartel now looks to become the first horse to ever win the All American Futurity and Los Alamitos Million Futurity.

This trial belonged to Butch Wise's Teller Cartel right from the start, as he exploded from post eight and was never challenged from there. Teller Cartel had defeated Higher Fire in the Golden State Million trial but the filly came back to win the $1,100,000 final. Teller Cartel was third in that million dollar final after leading during the early going.

"(Jockey) Cody Jensen told me that's the best Teller Cartel had run for him," said trainer Paul Jones. "Cody said that he would probably won the Golden State Million if he had finished the way he did tonight."

"He just kept reaching for the wire," said Jensen, who piloted Teller Cartel to his All American triumph. "He ran huge. This was an absolutely monster race. Anytime you beat caliber of horses like Higher Fire, Cut The Snow and Wanta Dubloon by daylight it's a monster effort. He got a little short on me in the Golden State Million final but not tonight. He ran as good or better as when he won the All American."

2. Love My Corona :19.565

Christian and Ru Anna Singletary, Love My Corona left the gate better than any horse in the trials on the way to posting the second fastest qualifying time of the night in the ninth heat to the Los Alamitos Million Futurity.

Bred by Connie Nobles and Celina Molina, Love My Corona covered the distance in :19.56 while racing the first 180 yards in a time of :09.945. By comparison, fastest qualifier Teller Cartel covered the initial 180 yards in a time of :10.075 while two-time graded futurity winner Finding Nemo, who was the fourth fastest qualifier, ran that opening distance in :10.13. By those numbers, Love My Corona would have an amazing 3/4 to a length ahead of Teller Cartel at the 1/8th pole.

"She's a little rocket," said Ru Anna Singletary. "That's what she can do when she gets going."

"She was so poised," said Ru Anna's husband, Christian Singletary. "When they opened the gate she was gone. That was an amazing race. If she breaks the same way in the final, she'll be in the thick of it. There are so many great horses in this final; we're just pleased to be a part of it."

Trained by Scott Willoughby and ridden by Alex Bautista, Love My Corona improved her record to three wins from seven starts. The filly took a break after running second in the Kindergarten Futurity and did not return until the trials to the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity. She won her trial before running seventh in the 350-yard final.

"She needed time off," Christian said. "She ran so hard in the Kindergarten and she needed time off to recover."

The Singletaries will be taking part of their first Los Alamitos Million. Last year, their talented filly Lindas Dasher finished with the 12th fastest time.

3. Value The Man :19.59

While Love My Corona did her best work early, J. Garvan Kelly and Nancy Yearsley's Value The Man was at his peak in the late stages of the eighth trial heat. The gelding by Heza Fast Man was 1-3/4 length behind Love My Corona after the first 180 yards but by the end of the race he was only a head behind.

"We were looking forward to seeing him run in the Golden State Million and Los Alamitos Million trials," Kelly said. "We felt that he would like the 400 yard distance. Trainer John Bassett and his son Joe have done a great job keeping him sound. We're excited with the way Value The Man ran. We have his half-sister yearling as well. She's by Tres Seis."

Value The Man is out of the Grade 1 winner-producing mare Sheeza Lil Val.

"She was one of the first Quarter Horses that I ever owned," Yearley said. "She's the dam of Valiantly, who won the Grade 1 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity a couple of years ago. She's a very nice broodmare and as for Value The Man, we're really excited about him."

In his only previous futurity final, Value The Man finished third in the Grade 3 Ford California Challenge. The Oklahoma homebred has hit the board in five of six starts.

4. Finding Nemo :19.62

Making his first outing since winning the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity on October 1, Charles Boyles and James Azevedo's Finding Nemo was an impressive runaway winner in the first of 10 trials to the $1.5 million Los Alamitos Million Futurity.

Ridden by Hector Cuevas, Finding Nemo broke slow but quickly found his stride en route to the fourth fastest qualifying time of :19.62 clocking. Bred by Azevedo, Boyles and Jones, Finding Nemo was picking up his fifth win in a row.

"He was coming off his first break of the year so we were a little concerned," Azevedo said. "We hated to miss the Golden State Million (on Nov. 4) but you can't run in all of the futurities. Hopefully he can get into the Los Alamitos Million and do a good job there.

"He had a bad stumble and he came out a little bit in this race but he finished strongly," he added. "I think he ran a pretty good race."

His father-in-law and business partner Charles Boyles, who is in the midst of a courageous fight against cancer, accompanied Azevedo in the winner's circle.

"He's had some hard times but he's still fighting," Azevedo said. "One of his goals was to be here and watch Finding Nemo run in the trials. Chuck has done that now. I'm sure Chuck's will be excited to watch his horse run in the Million final."

Finding Nemo, a colt by Fishers Dash, has enjoyed a spectacular campaign. In addition to his victory in the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity, he also won the Governor's Cup Futurity and finished third in the Grade 1 $1,145,000 Ed Burke Million Futurity. He finished sixth in the Kindergarten Futurity earlier this year. He's won eight of 10 starts - his only blemished coming in the Ed Burke and Kindergarten finals.

5. He Storms :19.696

Leading owner Ed Allred calls He Storms the favorite 2-year-old in his stable. One look at He Storms' breeding and one can see why. The California-bred gelding is by the outstanding sire Separatist out of Grade 1 Ed Burke Futurity winner Mega Storm. Unfortunately for his connections, He Storms had a tendency to misbehave.

"We cut him and then in his next start he reared in the gate," Allred said. "When he did that I said, 'Oh no.' "

But the "Storm" settled down in time for his Los Alamitos Million trials, as he ran his best race of the year to win his heat in a time of :19.695. Saddled by Kelly Lewis and ridden by Alejandro Luna, He Storms defeated a nice group that included the stakes placed Kelowna Kash and Make It Secret, a gelding out of Grade 1 futurity winner Secret Card.

"Kelly said he had been training a lot better," Allred said. "He also broke well for the first time. I'm pleased."

Allred and Lewis will be going after their second win in the Los Alamitos Million. The two joined forces with Kingman Kid to win the 1998 running of this race.

6. Higher Fire :19.74

Higher Fire finished second with a time of :19.74, which was good enough to earn her a trip to the Los Alamitos Million final as the sixth fastest qualifier. Higher Fire now joins Hawkish as the only Los Alamitos Million finalist to have won the first two legs of the Los Alamitos Bonanza. Higher Fire will surely love to become the track's first Triple Crown winner. Hawkish finished ninth in his Million final.

Dutch Masters III's Higher Fire is still alive in her quest to become the first horse to win the Los Alamitos Bonanza. The filly will earn a total of $1,597,600 if she goes on to win the Los Alamitos Million, which includes a $1 million bonus for sweeping the Ed Burke Million, Golden State Million and Los Alamitos Million futurities.

"The most important thing was to get to the big dance," said Dr. James Streelman of Dutch Masters III. "Now that we're in, we're hoping to use our dancing shoes on the night of the Million. We are living a dream."

"If she does win the Million final, that would make history," added Denny Boer, also of Dutch Masters III. "We're not taking anything for granted. This is a great, great field and any of the 10 horses can win this race. We're just happy to be a part of the race."

How exciting will the days heading into the Million final be for the Dutch Masters III?

"I have a defibulator so I have to take it easy," Streelman added with a smile.

"She didn't break," trainer Jaime Gomez said. "I can't blame or fault anybody for her runner-up effort in this race. She was perfect in the gate, she just didn't leave as strong as she is capable. If you don't get away from the gate then you can't expect to beat these type of horses. We're just thrilled that she is in the final."

7. Ynot Bar :19.765

The story behind Ynot Bar began 14 years ago when Frank Pregelli took his 20-year-old daughter, Loretta, to Los Alamitos Race Course. "She just fell in love with the horses, their quickness and the whole atmosphere," Pregelli said. "So she said she wanted to own a horse. What a dad wouldn't do for a daughter?" he added.

After consulting with jockey Eddie Garcia, Pregelli claimed the mare Fames Easy for $4,000. "She had good breeding, and we checked into it. Loretta wanted to have (a mare)." Pregelli, a native of Italy, says in an Italian accent.

Fames Easy has gone to become a successful dam. She produced Dont Dink With Me, who was second in the 2001 Kindergarten Futurity, and now has the filly Ynot Bar. And Loebs has created a winning racing operation.

"I'm so proud of her," said Pregelli, now the racing manager for his daughter. "When you have a kid, you never know how they're going to turn out. She's the best."

Ynot Bar was foaled in January 2003, and Pregelli said that when the filly was only a few weeks old, Loebs received an offer for $125,000.

"Loretta loves the horse," Pregelli said. "It was the first filly ever by (Fames Easy), and she got attached to it. Look at how good it turned out."

Loebs, 34, is a schoolteacher in Palmdale, Calif., and has plans to go back to school to get a master's degree and eventually a doctorate.

Pregelli lives in Wilton, Calif., near Sacramento. He is originally from a small town called Galisda in the Italian Alps and came to the United States in 1964. Pregelli says he learned about horses from his grandfather on a farm in Italy.

8. Cut The Snow :19.79

Cut The Snow has quietly become one of the top 2-year-olds on the grounds. The Connie Hall trainee was the owner of the fastest qualifying time to the Ford California Juvenile final before he was scratched in the final due to a mishap in the starting gate. Nevertheless, Cut The Snow has bounced back nicely, first by qualifying to the $387,000 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity and now by making the field to the Los Alamitos Million Futurity after running third to Teller Cartel and Higher Fire in that tough trial.

Racing for Gail Bloom Trust and Connie Hall Racing Inc, Cut The Snow's best quality in his ability to avoid mistakes in his trial races.

"He ran straight and that did the job," Hall said after the Ford trials. "He's had trouble in his previous starts but he's a young horse. He's always shown talent but unfortunately he made some mistakes early in his career. He's a very strong horse and he can get away from the gate."

Cut The Snow has hit the board in seven of nine career starts.

9. Wanta Dubloon :19.795

Leave it to Spencer Childers to find a clever way to say 'Give Me Money.' The Hall of Fame breeder and owner named his homebred son Wanta Dubloon and he has responded by racking up some nice dough on the way to qualifying to the $1,500,000 Los Alamitos Million Futurity.

"Dubloons are a type of gold coins that can be up to 500 years old," Childers said. "He's by Willie Wanta Dash out of a Jazzing Hi mare named Jazzing Jet. She comes from one our breeding lines."

Wanta Dubloon picked up second stakes win of the year in the $20,000 AQHRJ Stakes for 2-year-olds, a race in which he led from start to finish over Kindergarten Futurity winner Gold Nugget Rd. With Alex Bautista aboard, Wanta Dubloon earned $11,000 for trainer Dan Francisco.

"I love this horse and the way he wins makes me love him more," Francisco said.

Wanta Dubloon has since earned $38,540 this year.

It has been a special year for the team of owner/breeder Spencer Childers and trainer Dan Francisco. Francisco and Childers enjoyed some major graded stakes wins with their World Champion Be A Bono with Diller A Dollar and now they have a chance to win the richest race in California - the $1.5 million Los Alamitos Million Futurity.

10. Shesnowlady :19.80

In a battle of All American Futurity finalists, R.D. Hubbard, Jimmy T.L. Jones Jtl & Masterson's Shesnowlady came out on top. First Wicked Lady, who like Shesnowlady ran in the All American Futurity, finished fifth in this - the eighth trial to the Los Alamitos Million.

Shesnowlady's victory gave trainer Paul Jones a new national record for most Quarter Horse wins in a single year. Jones has now visited the winner's circle 285 times in 2005, a mark that eclipses the record he set last year. Jones' next personal goal is to become the sport's first $6 million man. Jones currently holds the single season record of earnings with $5,862,157.

Meanwhile, Shesnowlady won the eighth heat in a time of :19.80. She knocked out Jones' other trainee - Kelowna Kash in the process. Saul Ramirez piloted the daughter of First Down Dash, who also qualified to the Rainbow Futurity.