TOP QUALIFIER FIVE BAR SUPREME COMPLETES JOB IN WILD WEST FINAL
After dominating the trials to the $86,350 Wild West Futurity final, Jorge Carmona’s Five Bar Supreme posted a hard-fought gate to wire victory in the final, holding off Kim Newman and Dave Merritt’s M E Ettago Relent by a neck in the 350-yard dash on Sunday at Alamitos.
Ridden by Jesus Rios Ayala, Five Bar Supreme ran lights out in the trials for trainer Lindolfo Diaz, winning by 2 ¾ lengths while posting a time that was 44/100ths of a second faster than the next fastest qualifier. The final was a much closer affair with Five Bar Supreme holding an early lead, opening a half-length advantage at the midway point and then holding on nicely to record his fifth victory in seven starts at Los Alamitos. The Wild West Futurity was also his second stakes win of the year, as he previously won the running of the Firecracker Futurity at Grants Pass. Earning $36,267 in the Wild West, the gelding by the champion and millionaire Five Bar Cartel improved his career bankroll to $73,512.
“We’ve been really lucky with this horse,” Carmona said. “I had taken him to the sale, and I was going to sell him. He didn’t sell after all. We kept him and he’s been really good to us. In Grants Pass, he did good thanks to trainer Roberto Herrera. He helped us a lot. We came back home. We didn’t get lucky; we didn’t get into the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity. We would have liked to (qualify), but I can’t say anything at all. I’m thankful. Thanks to Lindolfo’s team. We’re thankful to everyone who has helped us out and put their little piece into this.”
Carmona campaigned the stallion Five Bar Cartel to a win in the 2013 Ed Burke Million Futurity and second in the 2014 All American Derby. Five Bar Supreme, who was bred by Ugo De La Torre, is out of the mare Luv Supreme, who was third in the 2014 Golden State Million Futurity while also qualifying to a pair of other major stakes races. As for Five Bar Supreme, he’ll now be pointed to the trials to the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity.
“When he ran second in his PCQHRA Breeders Futurity trial he had been off for a few months,” Carmona added. “We are hoping these races help him in the Two Million trials.”
Ridden by James Flores for trainer Monty Arrossa, M E Ettago Relent earned $14,680 for running second. Michael Clark’s Pappas Missile earned $10,362 for running third. Double A Eagle, Slam Diego, Interesting Talk, Ms Moira Rose, You Cant Drive 95, and Lights Out Now completed the field. Cuatro Cinco was scratched.
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