Qualified by winning the Vessels Maturity and Go Man Go Handicap

None of 2004 World Champion Be A Bono's efforts in 2006 could have been possible without the help of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Troy Ford. Back in November of 2005, Ford performed a groundbreaking surgery on Be A Bono in which he injected stem cells from a small sample of Be A Bono's own fat in order to regenerate damaged bone and cartilage on the right knee of the champion sprinter. "This procedure has been used to repair bowed tendons but this was the first case in which I've used it for a joint," said Ford, who was on hand at Los Alamitos to watch his former patient's first stakes race since the surgery. "I'm quite pleased with the result. This was way beyond our expectations," Ford said. "Be A Bono had an obvious performance inflicted injury which left him with knee damage in bone and cartilage. We injected the stem cells so that they would regenerate a more normal bone and cartilage. We took the cells from the right side of his tail. We took out about a tablespoon of fat. We shipped the cells to Vet-Stem (laboratory) overnight. They harvested the cells and send it back to us the following day. We then injected the harvested cells into the joint." Be A Bono is the owner of the two fastest final 220-yard time ever recorded at Los Alamitos. He posted a :09.29 fraction in the Vessels Maturity and then a :09.24 in the Go Man Go Handicap. His win in the Vessels made him only the fourth horse to win consecutive runnings of the Grade 1 race. Be A Bono has now won six Grade 1 races plus three restricted Grade 1 races. He is currently tied for 12th place in the list of all-time leading Quarter Horses by stakes wins at Los Alamitos. He has won the race named after his owner- the $161,000 Spencer Childers California Breeders Championship Handicap - three straight years. His win in the Go Man Go Handicap was his first ever. "I'm glad that this race is over with," said trainer Dan Francisco. "This one is off our back. Even G.R. was saying that it was good to win this because he had finished second in it a couple of times before." Now it's time to get the Champion of Champions off his back. "He came in second once," Francisco. "We want to win it now."

In 1974 Dan Francisco trained Don Guerro to win the third-ever running of the Champion of Champions. Back then, the Champion of Champions had a $50,000 purse. Be A Bono will compete for a purse of $500,000. Francisco has enjoyed a couple of firsts thanks to Be A Bono. He picked up his first wins ever in the Golden State Million, Los Alamitos Super Derby and Vessels Maturity all thanks to Be A Bono. eIn 2003 Francisco became one of 13 trainers to saddle 500 quarter horse winners at Los Alamitos Race Course. Francisco retired briefly from training to work as an electrician for about three years in the early 1990s but has since reestablished himself as a leading trainer at Los Alamitos. Since his return to training, he has formed powerful partnerships with owners Martha "Mimi" Wells and Spencer Childers. One of his most memorable moment is not a stakes win, though. Instead, it's Griswold's heart-breaking loss to Thoroughbred archrival Valiant Pete in their famous match race at Santa Anita in 1991. Dan saddled the legendary Griswold to his richest victory at Los Alamitos. Ironically, it did not come in an 870-yard race but in the $220,000 Governor's Cup Derby at 400 yards.

"I've been racing horses for 60 years," Spencer Childers said. "To come up with one like Be A Bono is the experience of a lifetime. We loved his race in the Vessels Maturity. It was such a pleasure to watch." A member of the AQHA Hall of Fame, Spencer Childers will celebrate his 95th birthday on Dec. 21 and has been involved in quarter horse racing at Los Alamitos Race Course for more than 50 years. Childers first visited Los Alamitos in 1953 when the track was located on the other side of the railroad tracks and the Clubhouse had yet to be built. A former president of the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association, Spencer is an AQHA Director Emiritus, a life member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and is currently a director of the Los Alamitos Quarter Horse Racing Association. Spencer purchased his first quarter horse more than 50 years ago. His racing stock has featured Black Easter Bunny, who as a dam of seven foals became the foundation of his breeding program. Spencer was the AQHA Co-Champion Breeder in 1996, an honor he shared with Edward C. Allred. Spencer has been married to his wife, Florence, for more than 60 years and she also shares his love of horses. The couple stand Be A Bono's sire, Bono Jazz, at their Childers Ranch in Fresno. Be A Bono provided Childers with the richest win of his career in the $864,850 Golden State Futurity in 2003. In addition, Be A Bono has won the Spencer Childers California Breeders Championship, a race named for the owner, three times. Be A Bono will look to give Childers his first ever win in the Champion of Champions. Prior to Be A Bono, Childers' last try in the Champion of Champions was a third place finish by Black Sable in the 1979 Champion of Champions.