Qualified by running sixth in the Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trials

Bred by Vinewood Farms, Like Frankie And Me has a good habit of finding a way to make into the biggest races in the sport. His resume includes 14 stakes appearances, headed by a second place finish in the 2004 Golden State Million, a third place finish in the 2005 All American Derby and his runner-up effort in last year's Champion of Champions. He also ran third to DM Shicago in the All American Derby. Like Frankie And Me ran second in the 2005 Champion of Champions after qualifying via the Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trials last year. Owned and trained by Carlos Lopez, the son of Streakin La Jolla was third in the Winter Championship earlier this year and fifth in the Los Alamitos Invitational Championship. Lopez was just glad to see the 4-year-old gelding make the field to the Champion of Champions once more. "We're sneaking into this race and that's fine with me," Lopez said. "He was a 50-1 longshot last year and he ended up running second so that tells you that anything can happen in this sport. We gave him a break after his nice effort in the Winter Championship but he's not return as well as I hoped he would comeback. The horse didn't fire in the Griffin trials but I think part of that is that he got scared when he drew next to Apollitical Time and then he saw her blast out of the gate like she did. We'll get Like Frankie And Me ready for the race and we'll see if he can duplicate his effort from last year." In 2004, Like Frankie And Me left no doubt that was one of the best 2-year-olds on the grounds after scoring a super easy 1 1/4 length win while posting the third fastest qualifying time of :19.55 to the Los Alamitos Million He made things look easy in his Million trial, pushing his lead to a full length at the 220-yard mark and then increasing his lead even further in the final yards. Like Frankie And Me's effort was, in one word, perfect. "We gelded him after his first career start and that's help him get things right," said his previous owner, Francisco Gonsalez. "He did not pay attention to his job before we gelded him. His mind was always on something else." Like Frankie And Me has proved that on big races - his mind if often on the business at hand.

Carlos Lopez, one of the most successful trainers at Los Alamitos in the late 1980s and early 1990s, left the sport for five years before returning to the game in January of 2003. "It's always been fun to get back to training because working with horses is something that I really love doing," Lopez said. "You only live once so you have to spend your life doing things that you like." Lopez won the All American Futurity as an owner last year as part of the syndication that campaigned champion Teller Cartel. As a trainer, he has won over 300 Quarter Horses races and 14 stakes in his career at Los Alamitos. His major stakes winners include 1987 Go Man Go Handicap hero Kipscash, 1987 Governor's Cup Futurity winner Band Commander and 1992 Golden State Derby king Holland Ease and champion 3-year-old gelding Four Forty Blast. Under Lopez's care, Four Forty Blast defeated older horses in the Go Man Go Handicap and captured the Los Alamitos and Governor's Cup derbies in his championship year. Lopez would later follow on the footsteps of Bob Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas, switching from training Quarter Horses at Los Alamitos to conditioning Thoroughbreds in the tough Southern California racing circuit. At Santa Anita, Lopez enjoyed nice success training for James Streelman of Dutch Masters III, however, he had to stop training due to an urgent family matter in Mexico. "My brother passed away and I had to go to Mexico to take care of a few things," Lopez said. "Once I was there, other things kept coming up that needed my attention. I ended up being away from training longer than I expected but I knew that if I ever came back it would be at Los Alamitos." Over the years, Lopez has worked with top owners like Dutch Masters III, Francisco Gonsalez, Gianni Franco Samaja and P.J. Schachle.