FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                       
           JUNE 19, 2009

CONTACT LOS ALAMITOS PUBLICITY
714-820-2690

FREAKY SETS ANOTHER RECORD, NOW IN CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS

LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, CYPRESS, CA... He's got the
records. He's got the catchy name. He has the charismatic
white emblazoned face. We're talking about Freaky of course,
and after another impressive record setting victory he now
also has a berth to the $750,000 Champion of Champions.

Owned by Armando Aguirre, Freaky set his third track record
of the season at Los Alamitos on the way to a 1 1/2 length
victory over A Mere Splash in Friday's Grade 1 $150,000
Vessels Maturity at 400 yards. Ridden by 21-year-old
Francisco Rubio, Freaky covered the distance in :19.156 to
lower his previous track record at this distance of :19.17,
which he set in the Vessels trials just a fortnight ago. 
Trained by Adan Farias, Freaky currently owns the 350-yard
track record as well of :17.14, which he posted in his first
start for the owner and trainer in mid-March. Since being
purchased privately by Aguirre, Freaky has won three of four
stars and all three of his wins have resulted in a track
record. Yet until this victory Freaky had still not fully
convinced his trainer. That's not the case anymore.  

"I wasn't sure if he was for real even after his first two
records," Farias said. "Now I can tell you that he is for
real. This was his most impressive effort by far. I'm a
believer in him now. You know, in the trials he benefited
from a 12 mile per hour tail wind but it looked like there
was a cross wind for this race tonight."

Wind? Freaky didn't need no stinking wind. 

Breaking from the outside post 10, Freaky broke like a shot
to open up a 3/4 length advantage and he never looked back
from there. 

"I was watching the start of the race on one of the TV
monitors and when I saw the way he broke out of the gate I
knew we had it won," said the 53-year-old Aguirre, who has
only been racing horses at Los Alamitos for only two years.
"Watching him run I was thinking, 'We're going to win.' I've
only heard about the Champion of Champions and I really
didn't know much about the race. I'm going to learn about it
now. This is much bigger than I ever imagined it."

Freaky now joins reigning Champion of Champions winner Jess
You And I, who is the 440-yard track record holder, and Grade
1 Remington Park Championship winner Separate Bet in the
classic for older horses on December 12. Freaky earned
$63,000 for his Vessels victory to take his career earnings
to $146,300. In his career, the Ed Allred-bred son of TR
Dasher has won six of 20 career starts.

"We're going to give Freaky some time off," Farias said.
"I'm sure we'll point him to the Los Alamitos Invitational
Championship and Champion of Champions. In the meantime,
we'll go to the sales and buy some yearlings."

"I went to New Mexico about a month ago," said Aguirre, who
owns a flooring company. "We installed a travertine and
granite floor there and made about $30,000 on the weeklong
job. Freaky made a lot more than that and in a much faster
time."

Farias is now looking forward to saddling a horse in the
Champion of Champions for the second time in his career.
After saddling Little Bit Of Baja to a second place finish in
the 2007 running of the Champion of Champions, Farias had a
terrible 2008 campaign, marred by a long suspension. 

"I lost a lot of business last year," Farias said. "I had
115 horses in last year and now I have 46. It was a bad year
for me. I'm trying to turn the page now and hopefully I can
become a better racehorse trainer."

One of the big winners on the night was the young rider
Francisco Rubio, who earned his first Grade 1 victory at Los
Alamitos. Rubio picked up the mount aboard Freaky in the
trials when leading rider Rodrigo Aceves remained loyal to
the horses of Rancho El Alacran. 

"This was Rodrigo's horse and when the opportunity came up
for me to ride him it was Rodrigo who encouraged me to make
the most out of the opportunity," Rubio explained. "Rodrigo
has been one of the riders that has helped and supported me
the most. He's always been great to me and has tried to make
me feel confident and comfortable. I'm very thankful to
Rodrigo."

Rubio, who will turn 22 on July 10, left behind his mother
Maria Cuevas Rodriguez when he moved from Mexico to
California a couple of years ago.

"I came with my dad and brother," Rubio said. "We have a
place in Stockton (in Northern California) and that's where
they live, but I live in Long Beach, which is close to the
track. My mom is proud of the success that I'm enjoying here
right now. I talk to her on the phone almost every single
day. She's my biggest fan."

Freaky also seems to have a lot of fans. 

"I wanted to buy Freaky even before (Aguirre) bought him,"
said Jose Luis Gonzalez, whose father Felix A. Gonzalez owns
runner-up A Mere Splash and 10th place Vessels Maturity
finisher A Mere Chocolate. "I told my dad to buy him; I told
my uncle to buy him. I told friends in Guadalajara and
Sinaloa, Mexico to buy him. I've been a big fan of Freaky for
a while. He's a fast, fast horse."

"I'm just glad that they left Freaky for me to buy," Aguirre
said with a big laugh. 

Rodrigo Aceves crossed the wire third with Fighter On Fire
but was disqualified from third and placed sixth for
interfering with horses in the field. Fighter On Fire was
dropped from third to sixth. Eva Carrazco's JP Rhythm was
moved up from fourth to third. First To Reach was fourth,
Stylish Jess Br ran fifth and Fighter On Fire was sixth.
Premier Venu, Really A First, Hawk In The City and A Mere
Chocolate completed the field.   

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