LOS ALAMITOS, CA—FEBRUARY 7, 2010—The partnership of Vessels Stallion Farm and Los Bustardos has enjoyed great success over the years with the outstanding champion Little Bit Of Baja, the winner of the 2007 Los Alamitos Super Derby and a two-time runner-up in the Champion of Champions.

The rise of the remarkable Little Bit Of Baja began early in 2007 when the son of First Down Dash qualified to the Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes. Vessels Stallion Farm and Los Bustardos are now hoping that their young sprinter Jus Ledoux It can reach some of the heights of Little Bit Of Baja following his qualifying effort to this year's $134,000 Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes.

Ridden by Rodrigo Aceves for trainer Adan Farias, Jus Ledoux It posted the fastest qualifying time to the February 27 Maiden Stakes final after covering the 350 yards in a flashy :17.263 when winning the third of six trials contested on Saturday. Jus Ledoux It needed every bit of that effort, as Felix A. Gonzalez's Brooklyn Boy put a ton of pressure throughout as he posted the second fastest time of :17.292. Brooklyn Boy, a gelded son of The Chocolate Rocket, survived an inquiry in this race, as he broke inward to bump a rival hard before bouncing back with a powerful trial race.

For a complete list of Maiden Stakes finalist, their times, sires, dams, owners, breeders, trainers and jockeys CLICK HERE.

Starting from post seven, Jus Ledoux It flew out of the gate to establish a daylight advantage over Brooklyn Boy. The Debbie Horrocks and Robert Cunningham-bred runner saw his lead shrink in the second half of the race, but he continued to battle and would not be denied his maiden victory in seven career starts.

"He surprised me," Farias said of the son of A Regal Choice. "This is his third start since being gelded and that has helped him a great deal. He had always been a little hard to train because he would act very studdy. He was a handful to deal with, but since we gelded him he has been a lot better. Sometimes that's exactly what a young horse needs to help him focus on running. He was a horse that needed that."

Farias saddled two other qualifiers in B Zoom and Stel Master.

"B Zoom is another horse that we gelded recently," he added. "This was only his second start since he was gelded. He broke okay but he did not let the other horse (Stelly Savalas) run past him. He was determined not to lose."

Robert Williams is the owner of B Zoom, a gelded son of Azoom. Williams had two horses represent him in last year's Maiden Stakes in Famous Dial and Deep Creek Bobbie, but the long time owner is still searching for his first victory in this race.

"I've been training for Mr. Williams for a couple of years now and he's a great client," Farias added. "I've actually only met him once before. We went to eat together. He is a quiet man, but he says a lot with only a few words."

Trainer Bret Vickery has enjoyed his share of success in the Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes and this year's renewal was no exception. Vickery, who won this race with LDS Dash For Dylan in 2005 and also qualified the stakes winning Honor Me Good in 2008, will have a pair of reps in this year's Maiden final. Vickery qualified Dee and Gary Hoovestal's Montana Cartel after the Southern Cartel filly finished second to FF Racing Stables' Secret Path, a gelding by Walk Thru Fire, in the second of six trials. Vickery also had the biggest surprise of the night, as Dennie and Kris Hill's Lite My Fyre won the fourth trial at odds of 25-1.

"I think Lite My Fyre has improved a ton," Vickery said. "She stepped it up a bunch in her race before these trials. I thought she had a shot because of that race. In this trial she was in a photo with AB Another Runner, who is a full brother of AB What A Runner."

AB What A Runner, of course, is the champion millionaire and All American Futurity winning filly that Dennie and Kris Hill campaigned with Vickery as the trainer.

"AB Another Runner and AB What A Runner are both out of Be So Merry and by Royal Quick Dash. It was exciting to watch (Lite My Fyre) fight it out with a brother to a horse that I knew so well. Montana Cartel is one of the most honest horses you will ever see. She never runs a bad race and she almost always hits the board. I thought she ran a nice race tonight."

Vickery added that his plans for 2010 are similar to his strategy from previous years.

"I'll run horses in the Northwest and we'll keep 15 to 20 horses at Los Alamitos," he explained. "We'll run some of our better horses here and hope that they perform well. We have four paid to the biggest futurities at Los Alamitos and we hope that they pan out. Dennie and Kris have an Ocean Runaway out of AB What A Runner and Dan Moon has a couple of nice runners that he purchased at the Los Alamitos Equine Sale last year. I also have a baby for Brenda and Harvey Pickens. I'm looking forward to a good meet at Los Alamitos and I would love to start the meet in a good way in the Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes."

Champion trainer Paul Jones will also has a pair of runners in the Maiden finale. Jones qualified Double Bar S Ranch's Stelly Savalas, a good looking son by Stel Corona, as well as Ronald Ore-Giron's AB Another Runner.

The stallion Stel Corona and Walk Thru Fire are the only stallions with multiple qualifiers to this year's Maiden finale. In addition to Stelly Savalas, Stel Corona is the sire of Stel Master, while 2009 Three Bars Award winner Walk Thru Fire is the sire of Lite My Fyre and the Felipe Quintero-trained Secret Path, who looked sharp in winning the opening trial in the evening's third fastest time.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com