APOLLITICAL PATTY LOOKS AMAZING WHILE POSTING TOP TIME TO LOS ALAMITOS OAKS
Making her first start for owner Julianna Hawn Holt, the recently purchased Apollitical Patty had arguably the most impressive sophomore debut by a Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity winner, as the daughter of Apollitical Blood returned with a scintillating 3 ½ lengths victory on the way to posting the fastest qualifying time to the $427,500 Los Alamitos Oaks here on Saturday night.
Her jaw-dropping margin was by far and away the largest ever posted by a Million winner in his or her next start after the rich futurity. Prior to Apollitical Patty’s rout, the most sizeable return win margin was 1 ¼ lengths by 2007 winner One Famous Eagle when making his 3-year-old debut in an allowance race on July 25, 2008. Among others of note, Flash And Roll, the 2018 winner, came back the following year with a length victory in a trial to the Ruidoso Derby on May 26, 2019.
The big-time win margin was just part of what made Apollitical Patty’s victory so outstanding. The Jim Walker-bred filly also had to overcome some adversity in the race, as she false-broke while waiting for the start after other runners became fractious in the starting gate. Once the gates opened, Apollitical Patty began gliding. After the first margin call at 180 yards into the race, she was already 3 lengths ahead and a few seconds later she already had her 3 ½ length lead. Her winning time of :19.553 made her the fastest qualifier to the Los Alamitos Oaks final to be held here on Saturday, March 27.
“I’m thrilled,” said winning trainer Monty Arrossa. “(Julianna) Hawn Holt does so much for our industry. She went out and gambled on buying her and I’m proud that the filly performer well for her. It was a tough decision for the Walker family to sell Apollitical Patty. This was Jim’s dream. He worked his whole life to raise these good horses to compete at the top level. It was real tough decision to sell her for JoAnn Walker and the family, but they just thought that you don’t get offers like that very often. They have a half-sister and half-brother to her. It was real tough decision for them.
“There’s no question that last year we had some issues with the gate with her. We’ve really been schooling her and we’ve really been focusing at the gate. She’s been performing well at the gate. I was so proud of her tonight. She stood in there for a long time and it looks like she false broke a little bit in there. She regained her composure and still broke well and ran a phenomenal race. She’s an amazing athlete.”
Now a winner of seven of nine starts, Apollitical Patty has earned $897,492 in her career. She was ridden to victory by Armando Cervantes.
Parsons Family Limited Partnership’s Terrific Temper also posted a terrific trial victory, as she won the second Oaks trial by two lengths in the second fastest time of :19.752. Trained by Chris O’Dell and ridden by Eduardo Nicasio, Terrific Temper had a 1 ¾ length win early on before extending it to 2 ¼ lengths and eventually to three lengths at the wire.
“Some of her problem is that she likes a little competition,” O’Dell said. “She won by a length (on a wet fast track) last time out in her Los Alamitos Winter Derby trial, but she was spooking at the mud and she needed competition. That gray filly, Apollitical Patty, she’ll be tough to deal with, but it might be a good race if we draw close together. That would be good. I think my filly needs something to run at. Apollitical Patty buries her head and runs no matter what, but this filly kind of gets out there a couple of lengths and she’ll go looking around, loafs a little. She’s good in the starting gate and is getting better in the paddock. She’s a very nervous, high-strung filly and hard to control. If we can get all that energy going in the right direction, she is one heck of a filly.”
The third trial went to Hawn Holt’s Aint She Tempting, who held off EG High Desert Farms’ La Estrella Corona by a nose while posting the third fastest time of :20.076. Jose Nicasio piloted the Oklahoma Futurity winner for Arrossa.
“Aint She Tempting is a little tired,” Arrossa said after the race. “She stood in the gate perfectly. This is a big-hearted filly. She has a wonderful disposition. She’s really quiet and has no bad habits. She’s just a perfect actor, doer, rester, eater. She’s a classy filly. I only worked her and Apollitical Patty one time since the Two Million. Apollitical Patty worked hard that day and this filly didn’t work quiet as hard. She needed this race and I think she’ll be sharper in the final. They’ve run against each other. In the Golden State, Aint She Tempting outran Patty and in the Two Million Patty beat her. They’ll get a chance to settle it the final of the Oaks.”
The complete list of a qualifiers to the Los Alamitos Oaks is as follows: Apollitical Patty (:19.553), Terrific Temper (:19.752), Aint She Tempting (:20.076), La Estrella Corona (:20.085), Leah Carroll (:20.138), Up For You (:20.187), Expedited (:20.195), Diva On Fire (:20.249), Comaneci (:20.322), and In My Heart (:20.381).
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