LOS ALAMITOS, CA— OCTOBER 2, 2015—Jaime Gomez was a popular trainer among his peers on the days leading up to the $135,000 PCQHRA Breeders Derby.

“I had trainers thanking me and thanking me and at first I didn’t know what they were talking about,” Gomez said. “Then one of them told me ‘thank you for scratching Forget It out of the derby’.”

Forget It, which had easily posted by far and away the fastest qualifying time to the PCQHRA Breeders Derby, withdrew from the PCQHRA Breeders Derby final after James Streelman of Dutch Masters III and Gomez decided to point him to the trials to the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Super Derby to be held next Sunday, October 11.

“Forget It is doing so good right now,” Gomez said.

Scratching the fastest qualifier was the only favor Gomez did for his fellow trainers in the PCQHRA Breeders Derby, as the trainer still won the race thanks to another one of his talented trainees, the talented filly Bac In Front.

Ridden by Carlos Huerta for owner Francisco Vega, Bac In Front led from start to finish and held off a nice late run by Howard Nichols’ Vivid to win the race by a head at 1-2 odds. The winner of the La Primera Del Ano Derby and Dillingham Handicap earlier this year, Bac In Front improved her 2015 record to six wins in nine starts.

The runner-up to Forget It in the Governor’s Cup Derby, Bac In Front has finished in the top two in 13 of her 14 career starts. She was third in her only other start.

“She’s been steady all year,” said Vega, who purchased Bac In Front privately following her freshman campaign. “We think she can still improve a little more. I was a little nervous going into this race, but I felt she had a good chance. We saw her coming on strong, but it was a tight race. She’s a good filly. She’s going in the Southern California Derby trials next. After that we would like to take some embryos out of her next year. Walk Thru Fire might be one of the stallions that we breed her to next year. It would be a good cross.”

Gomez has been impressed with the daughter of Foose and out of the Grade 1 winner Running Bac.

“This filly is sound,” he said. “She’s been first or second every time. She was bumped a couple of times (in the trials to the PCQHRA Breeders Derby), but she still came in second place. She used to be a little crazy in the gates. She used to get a little fractious. She’s settled down. Once she got a little calmer she started winning races.”

Bac In Front earned $52,500 for the win to take her career earnings to $209,523, while covering the 400 yards in this race in :20.011. Steve D. Burns bred the filly from the Splash Bac mare Running Bac.

Ridden by Santiago Mendez for trainer Jose Flores, Vivid bobbled at the start before flying late to finish in second place. The Walk Thru Fire filly earned $21,250 to take her lifetime earnings to $50,268. This was her seventh top two effort in 11 outings. Howard Nichols owns the filly out of the Separatist mare Realistically. Edward C. Allred is the breeder.

Steve Burns’ Walk The Catwalk earned $15,000 for running third. Cesar De Alba piloted the colt by Walk Thru Fire for trainer Mike Casselman. Tostado Family Enterprise LLC bred the sorrel filly from the Corona Cartel mare Alley Cat Corona.

Old Six Six, Flying Foose, Hot Shot, Personal High, Old Girl, and Off Beat completed the field. Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.