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© Scott Martinez
LOS ALAMITOS, CA—DECEMBER 17, 2017—Darling Farms, Jaime Gomez and Ernesto Solis’ J Fire Up completed a sensational campaign with a breathtaking daylight victory in California’s richest Quarter Horse race – the Grade 1, Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity – on the meet’s closing night Sunday at Los Alamitos Race Course.
Ridden by Jose Nicasio and saddled by Gomez, J Fire Up was in complete control of the $1,703,450 futurity, as she flew out of the gate from post number one, opened up a 1-¼ length advantage and never gave an inch from there.
The filly sired by Ed Allred’s Kiddy Up crossed the wire 1-¼ length ahead of Gomez’s other runner in this race, Lisa Anderson’s Moonie Blues, who raced beautifully from post number two while ridden by Nicasio’s older brother, Eduardo Nicasio.
For the season, J Fire won seven of nine starts and finished second in her other two outings. J Fire Up earned $715,449 for win in the Los Alamitos Two Million to double her earnings for the season to $1,430,411, making her the leading money winner at Los Alamitos in 2017.
For Gomez, this was his second career win in this track’s richest race. The veteran trainer won this race with the legendary stallion Corona Cartel 21 years ago in 1996. Corona Cartel is the sire of the aforementioned Kiddy Up. Gomez’s 1-2 finish in the Los Alamitos Two Million earned his barn $1,005,036 on Sunday. With this sum, the trainer’s 2017 total is now at $2,868,388 to make him the meet’s leading trainer in money earned.
"I raised this baby and I tried to sell her to everybody,” Gomez said. "I bought her back for $25,000 (at the 2016 Los Alamitos Equine Sale). I wanted $30,000 all of the time. This guy Dan Darling though, he’s like a lucky charm. Everything he touches turns to gold. He’s a super nice guy. He came up to me and he wanted to buy horses. He liked the filly and I said give me $20,000 and you can own half. That was the deal of his life. Our other partner, Ernesto, he’s worked for me for 23 years. I give him half (ownership) of babies all the time. He picked out this mare. He then said ‘Hey, how about the stallion?’ I said ‘Don’t worry, I’ll pay everything.’ I paid for the embryo. I paid the breeding and there she came. We should have kept 33% (each), but we sold the half to Dan Darling, but that’s okay,” Gomez added with a smile. "I’m happy and this night I’ll never forget.”
© Scott Martinez
"That’s okay,” Gomez said. "The feeling, I think it’s better for me because that’s my baby, my mare, she’s like my daughter. I thank Doc for having these big races. I think J Fire Up should be the champion 2-year-old filly. She has three futurity wins, two of them in Grade 1 races, plus another futurity win and a second in another Grade 1. What else can I say?”
All season long, Gomez has praised J Fire Up’s soundness and athletic ability.
"She’s healthy all the time,” he said. "She comes out of the race like if she didn’t run. The next day she’s happy, kicking and bucking. That’s what you want from those horses. If a horse comes out a race and doesn’t eat for four or five days, you’re (toast). This horse comes back and eats well. You have to hand-walk her all the time because she’s kicking and bucking. If she hears something she wants to take off. In the stall, you can come over and you can do anything with her. You can pet her, you can do anything with her.”
J Fire Up, under jockey Jose Nicasio, in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity post-parade. © Scott Martinez
"J Fire Up has never made a mistake,” Gomez continued. "She breaks like a bullet all the time. She just goes out there and runs her race every time. She came out the gates like a rabbit. Her mother, (This Boogie Fires) was one of the fastest (mares) I had here. She got a little infection in the gut and I had to retire her early. She was sound. She can’t carry babies. I have to do embryos every time. She’s super nice. Everything she’s thrown has been a runner.”
A stop at the breeding shed could be next for J Fire Up.
"I’m going to x-ray this filly in a couple of days,” he added. "Then I’m going to turn her out. I want to get a One Famous Eagle out of her.”
For Dan Darling, a dream year continues for the owner.
Moonie Blues, who broke right next to J Fire Up, earned $289,587 for her runner-up effort to give the filly by Freighttrain B a total of $355,369 this season.
"I thought it was a bad deal to draw together (J Fire Up from the rail and Moonie Blues from post two), but it ended up being really good,” Gomez continued. "Eduardo Nicasio, who was in the two hole, has a lot of experience. They ran second. That’s a good filly for my owners. Eduardo said, ‘Jaime, I may beat.’ I said, ‘Well, if you beat me I’ll be the same. I’m really happy for Lisa and Denny Boer. She sent me this filly early after she made about $500 (in Idaho). She won her first time out here in :15.50 (at 300 yards). She’s a runner. I’m blessed with both.”
J Fire Up defeating stablemate Moonie Blues in the Los Alamitos Two Million(G1) Sunday night at Los Alamitos.
© Scott Martinez
EG High Desert Farms’ Matilda Czech earned $119,241 for her fourth place finish. Ridden by Cruz Mendez and trained by Valentin Zamudio, the filly by first-crop sire Fast Prize Cartel was second by a nose in the Golden State Million. She’s now made $306,750 in her career.
Scoopie Jess, Peighnt Your Fate, Jess My Kiss, Ditto Head, Remember The Rose, On Our Way completed the field.
Live Quarter Horse racing returns at Los Alamitos on Friday night, December 29 with the running of the Holiday Handicap for 2-year-olds at 350 yards. First post is 7 p.m. The first Grade 1 race of 2018 here will be the Charger Bar Handicap on Sunday, January 7.
Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.