LOS ALAMITOS, CA—JUNE 19, 2010—Manuel Carmona Jr's Blues Man Too joined reigning AQHA World Champion Freaky and multiple champion and millionaire Jess You And I in the field to this year's $750,000 Champion of Champions following a surprising victory in the Grade 1 $139,600 Vessels Maturity on Friday at Los Alamitos.

Sent off at odds of 15-1, Blues Man Too outdueled 3-5 favorite A Streakinson by a head to win the Vessels Maturity in the second fastest time since the event became a 400-yard race in 1991. Ridden by Santiago Mendez for trainer Danny Montes, Blues Man Too covered the distance in :19.344 - a time that is second only behind Freaky's :19.15 which he set last year.

The win earns Blues Man Too a berth in the Champion of Champions and a date with the past two winners of this race in Freaky and Jess You And I. Blues Man Too has the pedigree to shine in the December classic, as he is a three-quarter brother to 2007 Champion of Champions winner Blues Girl Too. Carmona had purchased Blues Man Too privately from the connections of Blues Girl Too last year.

"That's why we got him," said Montes, referring to the Holland Ease gelding's pedigree. "Joe Bassett, (who trained Blues Girl Too) is a good friend of mine. He told me that they were selling Blues Man Too and asked me if I was interested. We took a look at the horse and we liked him. He didn't do too good for us at first, and then one day he would run a good race and one day he would run a bad race, but he's finally getting better and better. I think he's a more mature horse now and he's filled out a little more."

Blues Man Too is certainly the pride and joy of Carmona's barn. He's also the only horse that the owner is currently campaigning. Busy with other family commitments, Carmona could not be present at Los Alamitos for his horse's tremendous performance. However, he was able to catch the race on TVG.

"The economy has been a struggle," said the Southern California based automobile mechanic in a telephone interview following the race. "We've been running horses for a couple of years now and sometimes it has been a challenge to keep our racing program going, but we've always found a way.

"We've always tried to do as much as possible in the racing game because we love the horses," Carmona Jr. explained. "The emotions that we feel are high. This victory belongs to my father, Manuel Carmona Sr. This win is in his honor. He has always had racehorses and our entire family has always been around these incredible creatures. He is the one that taught us about the horses. He has always been our emotional leader and inspiration for getting involved in racing Quarter Horses. I'm 34-years-old and he is in his 60s. To have one of our horses make into the Champion of Champions, it's the dream of our lifetime. It's a great thing for our family. I want to say so much but I can't find the right words to express how great I feel."

Blues Man Too, a 4-year-old Oklahoma-bred, earned $58,632 in the Vessels Maturity to take his career earnings to $100,849. This was his fourth win in 18 career starts. His other previous top efforts included a second place finish in the Sgt Pepper Feature Handicap in September of 2009, and a fifth place finish in the Los Alamitos Winter Championship earlier this year.

"We had the lead in the Winter Championship but then Freaky caught us in the second half of the race," Montes said. "For the first 250 yards we were right there. That made me happy and I wasn't disappointed because it was the World Champion that beat us."

The win allowed 31-year-old Montes to reap the rewards of his labor. In recent years, Montes has run a small barn at Los Alamitos but he has found his share of success. In 2009, Montes won the $48,000 John Deere California Juvenile Challenge with a horse named Corona Street that is owned by Carmona's brother, Jorge. He also campaigned the Grade 1 stakes placed filly Suger Mama. This, however, is Montes first Grade 1 victory of his career.

"I grew up here in California and my base is here," Montes said. "I got my training license in 2001 in Idaho, but I eventually came back to California. It's been a struggle ever since, but training horses is all I know how to do. I've been doing this all of my life.

"This is a big moment for all of us," the trainer continued. "It goes to show that hard work pays off. It's not always easy. Sometimes we struggle, but we always keep going. With a horse like Blues Man Too and a win like this one, that makes it easy to go to work. We'll be here earlier in the morning (Saturday)."

John Andreini, Danny Cardoza, and Dr. Steve Burns' A Streakinson earned $23,732 for running second in the Vessels Maturity. The Hawkinson gelding would have probably won the race had it not been for his poor start.

"That's the worst that he's ever left the gate," trainer Adan Farias said. "(Jockey Rodrigo Aceves) said the he felt like the horse was concentrating in the gate. Then he heard the rattle of horses acting up in the gate and he started paying attention to them. That's when they opened the gate. He has to stop giving the other horses a head start. We need to be more aggressive about training him in the starting gate. If he can improve that aspect of his game then he'll be a tough to beat."

Bloke, Merridoc Hawk, He Needs Checking, Suger Mama, A Tempting Dash, Beastly King, Fantastic Corona Jr., and Rieda Hay Worth completed the field.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com