Preview Racing


Five Southern California Derby Trials On Tap On Sunday
Rosenthal Ranch LLC’s stakes winner Runforyourlife will be among 35 hopefuls contesting trials to the Grade 2, $154,550 Southern California Derby at 400 yards on Sunday at Los Alamitos.

© Scott Martinez
Five Southern California Derby Trials On Tap On Sunday

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—NOVEMBER 26, 2020—The final set of stakes trials of the year will be held on Sunday night at Los Alamitos when 35 sophomores compete in a total of five heats to the Grade 2, $154,550 Southern California Derby at 400 yards.

The horses with the 10 fastest times in the trials will advance to the Southern California final to be held on the meet’s closing night, Sunday, December 20.

There are many attractive matchups in the trials beginning with the opening race, which is scheduled as the fourth race on the card. This group will include Ed Allred’s Up For Speed, the runner-up in the PCQHRA Breeders Derby, taking on Link Newcomb’s Cattail Cove, who was fourth in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Super Derby and second in last year’s Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity. Cattail Cove traveled to Ruidoso Downs in the summer, finishing third to Oatman Creek Senator in the All American Invitational.

The Late Pick Four sequence will feature four trials to the Southern California Derby and will consist of races five through eight.

The fifth race will feature a Super Derby trial rematch between Juniors Quarter Horses, Inc’s Pesky and Rancho El Cabresto, Inc’s Apollitical B King. In that trial, Pesky finished ahead of Apollitical B King by a half-length. They both had previously raced at Ruidoso Downs, where Pesky even qualified to the All American Invitational.

The third trial, which is race six, will bring together a trio of stars in the form of Rosenthal Ranch LLC’s Runforyourlife, Ed Allred’s Circle City, and Gentry Farms’ Kiss Thru Fire. Runforyourlife and Circle City had a memorable encounter last year, when ran 1-2 in a photo finish in the Grade 1 Golden State Million Futurity.

Runforyourlife came out on top on that night, winning the race a nose. Circle City became a stakes winner this August when he won the Golden State Derby by a half-length. Kiss Thru Fire ran in both the Golden State Million and Two Million last year.

Bobby Simmons’ Mental Error is one of the starts in these trials after showing a lot of early speed on the way to finishing second to Tell Cartel in the Los Alamitos Super Derby. He was also third in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby earlier this year.

Made Over and Fire By Night are among the top contenders in this heat. The final trial will be headed by Circle City’s full brother, Nomadic, who won the Governor’s Cup Derby on July 26.

Dunn Ranch’s Southern Wagon, who was second in the Los Alamitos Oaks, will also race in this trial.

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Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.