GOLDEN BOI, FLORES-QUARTET SHINE ON BIG NIGHT OF ED BURKE MILLION TRIALS
M & G Farms’ homebred Golden Boi highlighted a night of terrific performances, as the talented colt by Favorite Cartel won the seventh of 12 trials to the Grade 1, $1,120,000 Ed Burke Million Futurity in the fastest qualifying time of :17.627 on Sunday at Los Alamitos.
Golden Boi was light on his feet and packed a punch when he needed it most, as he recovered quickly after bumping at the start before flying late to score a half-length victory over Dunn Ranch’s Motiveighted to score his second career win from three starts. Ridden by Ruben Lozano for trainer Valentin Zamudio, Golden Boi will now lead a superb field of 10 juveniles in the Ed Burke Million final to be held on Sunday, June 20.
“The horse has always shown us talent,” Zamudio said. “He did well in his workouts and fortunately has done great in his races. He had some trouble in his second outing, but he still ran a very good race. He is just talented and we’re just hoping that he continues to do everything right. The competition will be very tough. I felt he was coming into this race feeling good and a lot more focused. He can still improve in the gates. He is still getting better leaving there and fortunately, he is still improving that aspect of his game.”
Golden Boi won his debut by a neck while posting what was at the time the fastest 220-yard race of the season when covering the distance in :12.08. He faced winners in his second start and was the 6-5 favorite, but he bumped early on and finished fourth. He was back at his best in his trial, as he opened a neck advantage once he got rolling and then cruised home from there. His dam is the multiple stakes winning Toast To Dash mare Logans Dash, who won six races in her career in route to earning $123,541. The Lousiana-bred mare was a three-time stakes winner at Hialeah Park in 2012 and the winner of the Delta Dash Stake at Delta Downs in 2013.
The first four trials of the night were dominated by trainer Jose Flores, as he swept the early Pick Four races while watching all four of his early winners move on to the Ed Burke Million final. Guadalupe Bujanda, Flores and Silver Racing Farms’ Black Coffeee (left) won the opening trial in stunning form, as the Favorite Cartel gelding had a daylight lead shortly after the start and was unrelentless from there, crossing the wire 1 ¾ lengths ahead of his rivals. Bred by Silver Racing Farm LLC, Black Coffeee finished with the second fastest time of :17.640. His dam is Coronas Fast Honey, who is also the dam of Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity winner Fire Fast Honey.
In the second trial, Flores had another impressive winner as Ricardo Ramirez’s Chizum shook off some early trouble to pull away to one length victory in the seventh fastest time of :17.750. Cruz Mendez, who won the first trial with Black Coffeee, was also aboard the Tempting Dash gelding, who Ramirez purchased for $150,000 at the Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale last year.
“Black Coffeee, we’ve been struggling to keep weight on him,” Flores began. “He finally seemed like he’s been settling down and it showed today by giving us a good race. Chizum did real well. He was standing just perfect and then a horse reared up and he got a little bit fractious. Then he was spreading his back legs, so he didn’t leave like he usually does. He usually gets into stride right away, so that cost him some ticks of the clock.”
Chizum’s dam is Ms Eaves, winner of the Les Bois Juvenile Challenge in 2012. Her female line goes back to the mares bred by the Allred Brothers of Arizona.
As for Flores, the veteran trainer appeared to have one of the strongest ensembles coming into the trials, so surely, he felt the heat to live up to the lofty expectations.
“Terrible, but I like it,” Flores said referring to the pressure. “If you have pressure, it’s because you have some good stock.”
Steve Burns, J. Francisco Garcia and Juan H. Moya’s Eye On The Sky (left) is one of the most promising runners in Flores’ stable. Purchased for $62,000 at the Heritage Place Sale, the Favorite Cartel colt won his debut by a jaw-dropping 3 ½ lengths on April 24 and he returned with a strong trial victory on Sunday, winning the third trial by a length in the sixth fastest time of :17.739. With Mendez up, the Burns-bred runner did not have a clean start, but there was no denying his talent once he got loose about 100 yards after the start.
“Everything that he does just comes natural to him,” Flores said. “Today he broke well and then he bumped. He got going after the second or third jump. He’s doing everything well and he ran an intelligent race. We’re just hoping that we have some luck.”
In the winner’s circle, Flores stepped back and let Moya put his hand on the horse’s hip for the commemorative winning snapshot taken after the race.
“He deserves it,” Flores said of the owner. “Just like all my other owners. They’re all great owner. He’s always so involved, and he’s been supporting this sport a lot like my other owners, and I really appreciate that. I’ve been blessed with a lot of great owners. They’re a blessing and they should get to pet on their horses too in the winner’s circle.”
Bruce and Jill Thompson’s homebred filly Run By Your Cartel showed grit and determination in the 12th and final trial of the night, as she outdueled the ultra-game Docs Fast Lane by a neck while posting the fifth fastest time of :17.738. Ridden by Armando Cervantes for trainer Juan Aleman, Run By Your Cartel has won both of her career starts, her first being a 1 ¼ length triumph on May 2.
“For being in the last trial, she ran an exceptional race,” Aleman said. “She ran from the far outside, the 10 hole. She’s a very professional filly. She was my last shot and she got it done for us. Bruce and Jill have been with me since they started in the horse business. They owned her mother and bred this filly. It’s good to have them come back and get into a million-dollar race with a horse that they raised.”
Flores completed the quartet of victories to begin the night with S-Quarter K LLC’s Sweet Dasha Fire, a full-sister to 2015 AQHA World Champion Heza Dasha Fire and half-sister to 2015 AQHA champion 2-year-old gelding Ima Fearless Hero. Sweet Dash Fire won her trial by ¾ lengths and in the 10th fastest time of the night. Eduardo Nicasio did the honors aboard the filly in this race. Heza Dasha Fire won the 2014 Ed Burke final with Flores doing the training and the aforementioned Mendez doing the riding.
Sired by the great Corona Cartel, Run By Your Cartel’s dam is Run By You, who earned over $73,000 while qualifying to the La Primera Del Año Derby, Golden State Derby and Los Alamitos Super Derby in 2015 and the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity in 2014.
Owned by Erick Gutierrez-Carrillo, Javier Chavez, Carlos Lopez, and Jimmy Negrete, Docs Fastlane became the meet’s first multiple futurity finalist with his solid runner-up effort in this trial. Bred by Jimmy and Dinah Negrete, Docs Fastlane ran fourth in the Kindergarten Futurity in his previous start and now advances to the Ed Burke final after posting the eight fastest time of the night.
The list of qualifiers was completed by the trio of horses by Dunn Ranch LL in the form of In Hott Pursuit, Motiveighted, and Hallelujah Night, who finished as the third, fourth and ninth fastest qualifiers.
The complete list of a qualifiers is as follows: Golden Boi (:17.627), Black Coffeee (:17.640), In Hott Pursuit (:17.663), Motiveighted (:17.710), Run By Your Cartel (:17.738), Eye On The Sky (:17.739), Chizum (:17.750), Docs Fastlane (:17.774), Hallelujah Nights (:17.801), and Sweet Dasha Fire (:17.805).
Total all-sources handle for the 12-race live program was $2,414,658, which is the highest single night figure for this season, and the 10th highest of all-time at Los Alamitos. The other nine higher handles of all-time at Los Alamitos were set in 2020.
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