FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       
FEBRUARY 28, 2009

CONTACT LOS ALAMITOS PUBLICITY
714-820-2690

ROYAL PROCLAMATION ANNOUNCES HIMSELF AS ONE TO WATCH AFTER
MAIDEN STAKES WIN  

LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, CYPRESS, CA... Facing the
difficult decision between starting Royal Proclamation in the
trials to the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby or the trials
to the Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes, owners J. Garvan Kelly and
Nancy Yearsley benefited from the expert advice of champion
trainer Paul Jones.

"Paul told us that even though he liked Royal Proclamation,
he felt the horse wasn't quite ready to face the monsters in
the Winter Derby trials," Kelly explained. "Paul believed
that the Maiden trials would provide him with the perfect
opportunity to show that he is a terrific prospect."

Kelly and Yearsley were proven right to follow Jones' advice
after the Oklahoma-bred gelding by A Regal Choice defeated
2008 Kindergarten Futurity finalist Irenes Choice by a length
to win Saturday's $141,750 Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes. With
Ramon Sanchez in the irons, Royal Proclamation covered the
350 yards in :17.44 while giving Jones back-to-back victories
in the Maiden Stakes. The trainer saddled Tailgunner Tom to
victory last year.

For Royal Proclamation, the victory in the Maiden Stakes
could be the start of something big and certainly the reward
for the patience that his connections showed while they raced
the gelding as a 2-year-old. Royal Proclamation started his
career by finishing eighth in a maiden outing at Remington
Park last year. He bounced back with a solid third in a trial
to the Rainbow Derby at Ruidoso Downs, but he would need
almost six months off after suffering a stress fracture in
his shins according to his connections. Upon his return,
Royal Proclamation continued to show his potential, first by
breaking his maiden by a half-length on January 10 and then
by running second to fastest qualifier Fire Is On in his
trial to the Maiden Stakes. Now is this breakthrough effort
in the Maiden Stakes, a victory that puts in good company
with the likes of Grade 1 winner LDS Dash For Dylan and
graded stakes winner A Mere Splash.

"Ramon told us that (Royal Proclamation) didn't like the wet
track in the trials and he felt that he would love this
surface tonight," Yearsley said. "That gave us confidence
going into this race. He ran a very well (in the trials) and
we thought he could do better tonight."

Powerfully built and closely resembling the good looks of
his sire, A Regal Choice, Royal Proclamation earned $59,535
for his victory in this race. He remains eligible to the El
Primero Del Ano Derby trials to be held on March 20, plus
also the trials to the Rainbow, All American and Los Alamitos
Super derbies. 

"That's the plan," Kelly said. "It looks like he may have
grabbed a quarter a little bit in this race, but we have
three weeks to see if he's okay enough to run in the El
Primero trials. If we have to pass up the El Primero trials,
we will do that. This horse has started to blossom. We will
not do anything to put him in jeopardy, plus there's plenty
of other fish to fry with him later in the year."

Yearsley added that Royal Proclamation is the first foal out
of Rare Form mare Rule The Skies. 

"Rule The Skies was a stakes winner (of the 2004 Blackhawk
Stakes at Prairie Meadows in Iowa) and a gorgeous mare. Her
dam is Sky Chicks, who is also the mother of (Grade 2 winner)
Dutch Schultz. Sky Chicks just had a couple of babies, one by
Mr Jess Perry and one by Corona Cartel. They're only a couple
of months old. She also has a Wave Carver baby on the way,
plus she has a 2-year-old son named Rickenbacker that's in
Paul's barn right now." 

"He's by The Down Side and we repurchased him for $48,000 at
the (2008) Los Alamitos Equine Sale," Kelly added.     
 
In her career, Rule The Skies ran second to This Candys
Special in the 2004 Grade 3 John Central Distaff Challenge
and third to Corona Coquette in that year's Grade 3 John
Deere Oklahoma Distaff Challenge. 

With Royal Proclamation winning and FF Racing Stables'
Irenes Choice finishing second, the stallion A Regal Choice
ended up with the exacta in the Maiden Stakes. 

"We've breed a lot of mares to A Regal Choice," Yearsley
said. "A Regal Choice just had that 'hutzpah' - that supreme
confidence about himself. We're happy for A Regal Choice."

Ridden by Irenes Choice and saddled by Felipe Quintero Jr.,
Irenes Choice ran a tremendous race while earning $24,098 for
her second place effort. The winnings more than doubled her
career bankroll, which now stand at $41,267. Eddie Garcia
piloted the sorrel filly from post number nine.

"She left the gate super and was on the lead," Garcia said.
"We needed all the help that we could get but it just so
happened that we got caught by a nice horse. I have no
complaints. She ran a fast race (:17.56). If we had traded
places with Royal Proclamation I think we could have won.
This filly was all by herself and had no one to run with
after breaking from the outside post. The winner was in the
middle of the track and was battling a couple of horses early
in the race. If we had been in his spot maybe we could have
done better and won."

Daniel Reynoso's Fire Is On, who came in undefeated in two
starts and was the fastest qualifier to this race, had a
troubled slow start before flying late to finish third for
trainer Miguel Rodriguez and jockey Santiago Mendez. Hard
Lining, Shining First Love, A Famous Dial, Pipers Tune, La
Petite Azoom and Deep Creek Bobbie followed him across the
wire. Jessthisgirl was scratched prior to the start of
Saturday's racing program.

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