LOS ALAMITOS, CA—NOVEMBER 17, 2018—Two provisional berths to the Grade 1, $600,000 Champion of Champions will be up for grabs when a superstar cast of horses led by stablemates Mr Pyc To You, the defending Champion of Champions winner, and 2015 winner Heza Dasha Fire compete in the Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trials on Sunday at Los Alamitos.

Heza Dasha Fire will be going after his fourth consecutive Champion of Champions berth when he headlines the first of two trials at 400 yards.

Trained by Jose Flores for S-Quarter K LLC, the 6-year-old gelding by Walk Thru Fire will enter this race after running sixth in the Grade 1 Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Invitational Championship on October 14.

He's only made two starts in 2018 – his other being a ¾ length win in the Spencer Childers Championship Handicap on July 28. Heza Dasha Fire, who won the 2015 Champion of Champions and has finished second in the last two runnings of the prestigious race, has been battling an infection the entire year.

"He's doing much better than he was earlier this year," Flores said. "We're feeling positive going into this race. We're looking forward to seeing him race like he can. If he runs his race, we feel good about his chances to qualify to the Champion of Champions once again."

Heza Dasha Fire, a winner of $2,221,737 in his 23-race career, ranks third all-time in career earnings only behind all-time leader Ochoa ($2.78 million) and Stolis Winner ($2.24 million). He'll need to race in the Champion of Champions to move ahead of Stolis Winner and into second place on the all-time list. Cruz Mendez will ride Heza Dasha Fire from post number six.

The opening trial will also feature Johnny Trotter's Bodacious Eagle, who finished second to the millionaire He Looks Hot in the Los Alamitos Invitational Championship in his last start. The decorated son of One Famous Eagle won the $200,000 All American Gold Cup in the summer at Ruidoso Downs, the Grade 1 Leo Stakes last year at Remington Park and the 2015 Grade 1 Texas Classic Derby at Lone Star Park. Justin Joiner trains the 6-year-old gelding bred by La Feliz Montana Ranch.

The second division will be headed by Flores and Ron and Denise VanAmburgh's Mr Pyc To You, who posted the biggest upset victory in the history of the Champion of Champions when winning at 60-1 odds last year. Mr Pyc To You has finished out of the money in his two starts of 2018, but Flores is hoping for another surprise effort from the Oklahoma-bred.

"He's been hit or miss," Flores said. "I never know with him. I hope it's his night on Sunday because he is capable of running a great race."

Racing in the Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trials before the Champion of Champions has worked out just fine for Zoomin For Spuds in each of the past two years.

"In 2016, we ran Spuds in the Z. Wayne Griffin, he qualified and ended up winning the Champion of Champions," trainer Monty Arrossa said. "In 2017, we ran Spuds in the Z. Wayne Griffin, he qualified once again and posted a great third place finish in the Champion of Champions."

Now, following Zoomin For Spuds' recent 10th place finish in the Grade 1 Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Invitational Championship on October 14, Arrossa and owner Jim Walker are hoping that racing the 5-year-old gelding in the Z. Wayne Griffin on Sunday night translates to a great race in the Champion of Champions for the third year in a row.

"Maybe we get lucky again and the Z. Wayne route works out for Spuds for a third time," Arrossa said.

Differently from the previous two years when he needed to qualify to the Champion of Champions by racing in the Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trials, Zoomin For Spuds has already earned a berth to this year's Champion of Champions. But that's not the case for the other 13 horses that will be racing in the trials. Zoomin For Spuds already punched his ticket to the Champion of Champions when winning the Grade 1 Vessels Maturity on July 8. He then ran a troubled fourth in the Grade 1 Go Man Go on September 2 and followed it with a disappointing last place finish in the Los Alamitos Invitational Championship.

"He turned his head and stepped back right when they opened the gate," Arrossa said. "He had never done that before. You can't make that type of a mistake in a race like the Los Alamitos Invitational. After he had a troubled break, the race turned into a bad trip overall. I felt that the horse needed to have a better go before going into the Champion of Champions. We looked at other options, but in the end this was the best opportunity that we had. He worked splendidly (a 220-yard work in :12.10) on November 3."

To be ridden by Jesus Rios Ayala, Zoomin For Spuds will face Mr Pyc To You, plus Kaweah Bar Handicap winner Royalty's Authority, and the talented sophomore Call Me Cole, who makes a quick return back after running sixth in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Super Derby last Sunday night.

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While Zoomin For Spuds is just looking for a good tightener, the other 13 will need to post one of the two fastest qualifying times to guarantee themselves a spot in the $600,000, 440-yard classic to be held on December 15. More Champion of Champions berths could open up in the upcoming weeks, but as of right now, a top two qualifying time is what the 13 trialists will be hoping to accomplish on Sunday.

Here are the eight others with provisional berths to the Champion of Champions with the races that earned them their respective berths noted in parenthesis:

• BH Lisas Boy (Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship)
• Jessies First Down (Remington Park Championship)
• Zoomin For Spuds (Vessels Maturity), Hotstepper (All American Derby)
• Jess Ravin (Mildred Vessels Memorial Handicap)
• He Looks Hot (Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Invitational Championship)
• Jesstacartel (Los Alamitos Super Derby)
• The winner of Saturday's Bank of America Challenge Championship.

In the event a berth opens from among the participants or races listed above, then Go Man Go Handicap winner Tarzanito will receive a provisional berth. Any other available berths that open up will be awarded to the horses with the next fastest times in the Z. Wayne Griffin trials.

Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.