SUCCESSFUL FIRST RUNNING OF THE LOS ALAMITOS CLAIMING FUTURITY GOES TO WOMAN SECRETS

     The inaugural running of the $55,500 Los Alamitos Claiming Futurity went to the hottest Quarter Horse owner in the nation, James Streelman’s Dutch Masters III, as Woman Secrets put together a professional performance from gate to wire to win the 350-yard dash on Sunday at Los Alamitos.

       Nine horses raced in the Claiming Futurity, an innovative concept race in which horses competed in trials without the worry for the connections of seeing their horse claimed out of the trials. However, once the finalists returned for the final, each of the runners could be claimed for a tag of $12,500. That made for some interesting strategy, as El Tio Angel, who was the fastest qualifier on trials night, did not return for the final, his owners preferring to keep him to run in the trials to the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity on September 12. Others, like Dutch Masters III, decided to roll the dice for the final, in his case with great success.

        After the race, a large crowd gathered by the weight scales area at the edge of the walking ring grass. The reason was to figure out which of the horses had been claimed out of this race. A total of 35 claim slips were turned in for four horses, including six for the winner Woman Secrets. Ridden by Jose Nicasio for trainer Jaime Gomez, Woman Secrets won the race by a neck and in a time of :18.014. The gelding by Separate Secrets earned $26,085 for his connections. He was then claimed for $12,500 by trainer Roman Figueroa for owner Noe Cano.

          “He’s a really nice horse,” said Carlos Lopez, the assistant trainer for Gomez. “He’s shown a lot of talent from the beginning. We decided to run him for a price and luckily, we got the win. It’s like selling him for ($38,000) so it was a good deal.”

        Dutch Masters III, meanwhile, added this win to an amazing weekend, as his star 2-year-old, Jess Savin Candy will be going for the Ruidoso Triple Crown after the gelding by Jess Good Candy qualified to the All American Futurity.   

          Lopez was lucky in the race and lucky in the claim box, as he won the shake for My Favorite Kind.

        “We got My Favorite Kind. There were 13 claims in that one. We had good luck tonight.”

         Racing for owner/breeder Double Bar S Ranch, My Favorite Kind finished third in the Claiming Stakes for trainer Paul Jones. Ahead of My Favorite Kind in this race was Randy Dickerson’s homebred Cmtakeyourluvtotown, who earned $11,100 for finishing second for trainer Luke Lindsey and jockey Ruben Lozano. My Favorite Kind earned $5,550 for running third with Ramon Sanchez up.

          The two other horses claimed were Carlisle Champ, who had two claims on her, and Not That Wild, who had a field-high 14 claims submitted for him before the race. Carlisle Champ went to Juan and Denilson Solorzano and trainer Jose Hernandez, Jr., while Not That Wild went to Ricardo Guillen and Sixto Cisnero.

           The complete order of finish to the Los Alamitos Claiming Futurity follows: Woman Secrets, Cmtakeyourluvtotown, My Favorite Kind, Go Out, Heza Dandy Candy, Carlisle Champ, Troubles, Not That Wild, and Alessio.

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