Moonlight Corona wins Your First Moon Handicap that was named for her older sister.

Scott Martinez Photo

The feature event of Friday evening recognized Moon Arisen's famous daughter Your First Moon with a $16,000 overnight handicap named in her honor. The winner of the race for sophomore fillies was another daughter of Moon Arisen, the now multiple local stakes winner Moonlight Corona, who used her tremendous quickness to post a neck victory over Debutante Handicap winner Catahawk in the 350-yard test.

"She is very quick out of the gate," said Moonlight Corona's owner, Ed Allred. "I love fillies that are quick and she fits that description. I can't wait to take her home to breed. We'll probably race her one or two more times and then it's the breeding shed. She comes from a great family."

Ridden by Jeff Jerman for trainer Scott Willoughby, Moonlight Corona covered the distance in :17.461. Sent off at odds of 6-1, the 3-year-old daughter of Corona Cartel improved her record to four wins from 11 career starts.

Her first place share of $8,800 in the Your First Moon takes her lifetime earnings to $46,817. Earlier this year, the Vessels Stallion Farms-bred filly won the Go Josie Go Handicap for Allred. Moonlight Corona also ran fourth to Alice K White in the $236,000 La Primera Del Ano Derby on May 29.

With Rodrigo Aceves in the irons, Catahawk finished a half-length ahead of Azoom Babe for second place. The Hawkish filly earned $3,600 for owner EG High Desert Farms. Adan Farias saddled the Hawkish filly.

Melvin Bollenbach's Azoom filly, Azoom Babe earned $2,000 for third.

Asyouwish, Flying Regal, and Spring Bling completed the field.

Your First Moon won the Los Alamitos Million Futurity and Governor's Cup Futurity in 2001. She won seven of 19 starts for earnings of $750,726. The outstanding Moon Arisen is also the mother of El Primero Del Ano Derby winner Not A Full Moon.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com