GOLDEN BOI IS IMPRESSIVE IN HIS RETURN TO RACING, HAS TOP QUALIFYING TIME TO EL PRIMERO

             AQHA and PCQHRA champion Golden Boi was sensational in his return to action, as the son of Favorite Cartel scored a two-length win in the third of three trials to the Grade 2, $215,000 El Primero Del Año Derby on Sunday at Los Alamitos.

            Owned and bred by M&G Farms, Golden Boi won his 400-yard trial in the fastest qualifying time of :19.623 to the El Primero final on March 27. The 2021 AQHA and PCQHRA champion 2-year-old colt was making his first start since October 10 when he posted the fastest time to the Grade 1 Golden State Million Futurity. An illness kept Golden Boi out of the Golden State Million final, but the sorrel gelding looked tremendous in his comeback.

            “It was great satisfaction to see him run,” trainer Valentin Zamudio said. “It’s a blessing to see that the horse has recovered and looking so good. We’ll see how he does in the final.”

            Golden Boi rested at Zamudio’s ranch prior to his return. He came back after 220-yard turn and work in :12.50 on February 12.  

            “We didn’t have time (for a gate work),” Zamudio added. “I thought he was fine coming into this race. He needed conditioning because of the time he had been away from the track. I trained him at the ranch and he had eating really well and walking. He looked really good, thankfully. I thought he was doing great before I brought him back on the grounds about a month ago. I thought he was ready about two months ago. He looked good physically. His coat looked nice; he was just doing good. We’ll keep taking it easy with him and give him some time to recover before the final. We checked him thoroughly before coming back and we’re pleased with how he is doing.”

            Ruben Lozano piloted Golden Boi in the third trial, as he crossed the wire well ahead of Barry Woodhouse’s Insider Information. The winner of the Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity final last year, Golden Boi has won five of seven starts and has now earned $493,191 in his career.

            Dunn Ranch’s Whizkey Glasses, winner of the Grade 1 Golden State Million Futurity, won the second trial in the second fastest time of :19.833. Ridden by Jesus Rios Ayala for trainer Monty Arrossa, the son of FDD Dynasty would have faced Golden Boi in the Golden State Million final but will now have his chance to square off with the champion colt in this derby final. Whizkey Glasses’ trial win improved his record to seven wins in 10 career starts. The El Primero Derby final will also be his fifth stakes race. He was third in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity last year.

            Racing for Robyn Gordon, Juan Moya and S-Quarter K LLC, Dasha Good Reason finished with the third fastest qualifying time of :19.904 following his second-place finish to Whizkey Glasses. A half-brother to millionaire champions Heza Dasha Fire and Ima Fearless Hero, Dasha Good Reason ran fourth in the Two Million in his last stakes appearance. He was also sixth in the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity last year. Erasmo Gasca rode the Washington-bred colt by Good Reason SA for trainer Jose Flores.

            Five Livestock Company LLC and Steve Wright’s Favorite Honey ran third to Whizkey Glasses in this trial on the way to recording the fourth fastest qualifying time of :19.927. The winner of the Grade 2 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity last year, Favorite Honey was ridden by Armando Cervantes and saddled by Arrossa.

         Ed Allred’s Watch Out won the opening trial of the night, as he defeated George Seward’s Knockout Cartel by a neck. Ridden by Oscar Peinado for trainer James Glenn, Jr., Watch Out finished as the fifth fastest qualifier with a time of :19.985. Sired by Fly Thru The Fire and out of the top broodmare Look Her Over, Watch Out ran second in the Governor’s Cup Futurity and fifth in the Los Alamitos Two Million last year. He’s a half-brother of 2019 AQHA World Champion He Looks Hot.

        The complete list of qualifiers to the El Primero Del Ano Derby is as follows: Golden Boi (:19.623), Whizkey Glasses (:19.833), Dasha Good Reason (:19.904), Favorite Honey (:19.927), Watch Out (:19.985), Insider Information (:20.003), Rocket Seventeen (:20.027), Knockout Cartel (:20.032), Tip Ofmy Tongue (:20.070), and Hallelujah Nights (:20.083).

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