Led by Grade 1 Ed Burke Memorial Futurity runner-up Faultless, Grade 2 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity winner AJ Your Favorite, and Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity winner Call Me Candela, a tremendous group of 112 juveniles will take center stage in a tremendous night of trials for the Grade 1, $1,164,150 Golden State Million Futurity on Saturday at Los Alamitos.
The card consists of 14 trials at 400 yards, with the horses posting the 10 fastest times advancing to the Golden State Million final on Sunday, October 25. With every race on the program serving as a trial, the 14-race card features three Pick Four wagers, beginning right after the final daytime race at Santa Anita. Each trial has drawn eight entrants for a total of 112 runners competing for a berth in the Grade 1 final. The purse for this year's final will be the second richest since 2011 and the eighth highest in the race's 56-year history.
In addition to the headliners, the lineup features Ed Burke Memorial finalists Nuclear Arsenal, Zionsville, Friend Indeed, and MP Jess Rockin, alongside Grade 1 Rainbow Futurity finalist Cartel Cowgirl 123, Grade 2 West Texas Futurity finalist Chief Keef 123, and Governor’s Cup Futurity runner-up Lonely At Night. All told, 23 runners have already won a futurity trial, including seven with trial victories in major Ruidoso futurities at The Downs at Albuquerque. Sixteen of these sprinters boast experience in a graded futurity final.
The opening trial is led by Dale Winterton’s Nuclear Arsenal, a three-time winner at Los Alamitos this season who finished third in the Ed Burke Memorial. The Inspyre colt will take on Demler Quarter Horses’ Revenantly, a trial winner for the Grade 1 Rainbow Futurity. J. Francisco Diaz’s Texas Cowgirl, third in the John Deere Los Alamitos Juvenile Challenge, and EG High Desert Farms’ Ed Burke Juvenile runner-up Standing With Pride are among the notable contenders in the night's first heat.
Two outstanding new arrivals square off in trial two: SR Racing Stables, LLC’s Hott Politician and La Feliz Montana Ranch and Ray Willis’ Chief Keef 123. Trained by Jason Giles, Hott Politician posted a 2¾-length victory in his All American Futurity trial and was simply unlucky not to qualify for the $3 million final. Bred by Chow Ventures, the Apollitical Jess gelding is out of a daughter of the terrific broodmare Pandorum—dam of Grade 1 winners Hotstepper, Hott Temptation, and Hotsempting. Hotstepper earned over $1.3 million with victories in both the All American Derby and Texas Classic Derby.
Meanwhile, Chief Keef 123—a gelding by Flying Cowboy 123—finished third in the West Texas Futurity, ran third in his Rainbow trial, and faced eventual All American Futurity winner Cowboys Flying in a trial for the Labor Day Classic.
Larry and Bobbie Rice’s AJ Your Favorite leads trial three following a razor-sharp win in the $300,000 Grade 2 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity. Ridden by Justine Klaiber—the meet’s leading Quarter Horse jockey—for trainer Eddie Willis, the Apollitical Jess filly broke cleanly from post six, established an early lead, and overcame lugging out down the stretch to win by half a length.
“She left great,” Klaiber said. “She wanted to get out at the end. That worried me a little bit, but I was trying not to keep her from running.”
Bred by Rancho El Cabresto, AJ Your Favorite is out of Favorite Wise Lady, an earner of $94,185 who finished second in the 2018 Governor’s Cup Futurity. EG High Desert Farms’ A Mere Andrea, winner of both the Ed Burke Juvenile and the California Juvenile Gold Rush, and Ed Allred’s Please Paul, a daylight maiden winner in his last outing, are among the others to watch in this heat.
The fourth trial might be the deepest and strongest heat of the evening. This lineup includes Ed Allred’s Ed Burke runner-up Faultless, Rancho El Cabresto’s unbeaten Train of Gold B, and the eye-catching filly Lethal Heiress from the barn of La Feliz Montana. Faultless missed winning the Ed Burke final by only a nose following a powerful closing effort. He was then unlucky in his PCQHRA trial, where a poor start left him with too much work to do before rallying for third behind Ed Burke winner Cv Fdddynasty Shan. Scott Willoughby saddles Faultless, who will be ridden by Gabriel Lara.
Train of Gold B, a filly by Freighttrain B, won her Ed Burke trial by a nose and returned to beat both A Mere Andrea and Standing With Pride in an allowance event on August 30. The homebred is not the quickest away from the gate, but she has shown the ability to pick up speed in a hurry and carry that momentum to the finish line. Lethal Heiress, a Favorite Cartel filly, is another who isn't a laser out of the gate, but she has proven capable of closing strongly for her connections.
In trial five, Allred’s Friend Indeed, who finished sixth in the Ed Burke final, takes on recent Albuquerque arrivals Mr Roosevelt, owned by Zane Kiehne, and Cartel Cowgirl 123, fifth in the Rainbow Futurity for owner Johnny Trotter and trainer James J. Gonzales II. Mr Roosevelt was second in the Ruidoso Juvenile back in June and has shown tremendous potential for trainer John Stinebaugh.
Rancho El Cabresto’s AJ Majesty, second to the aforementioned AJ Your Favorite in a July allowance, is among the top names in race six, while the Flying Cowboy 123 colt Quien Sabe Cowboy looks like the horse to beat in race seven. Owned by a partnership that includes past Golden State Million-winning owners Jimmy Barton, Lance Bland, and Scott Bryant, Quien Sabe Cowboy won his All American Futurity trial for trainer Marc Jungers, who previously won this race for Barton and Bland with Lethal Cowboy 123. Bred by Fulton Quien Sabe Ranches LP, Quien Sabe Cowboy is out of the blue-hen mare Pandorum. James Markum and Steve Burns’ Indiana Fever, third in the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity, will also line up against Quien Sabe Cowboy in this trial.
Owned and bred by MJ Farms, Antica enters as one of the most highly regarded contenders of the night. A full sister to AQHA World Champion Asscher, Antica won her Rainbow Futurity trial by daylight before making her California debut with an effortless ¾-length victory from the rail. Under the care of trainer Jason Giles, Antica looks to keep her record spotless while once again breaking from post one in trial eight.
Steve Burns’ Lonely At Night heads race nine from post nine. The homebred Favorite Cartel filly is out of the great broodmare Remember Me Rose, making her a full sister to past Golden State Million winners Enforce (2025) and Runforyourlife (2019). Lonely At Night ran a huge race in the Governor’s Cup Futurity, opening up a lead midway through before getting edged by a head at the wire. Miguel Osorio’s Call Me Candela, winner of the Kindergarten Futurity and an Ed Burke finalist, returns fresh for her first start since July 26 and will look to regain her top early-season form. This stacked trial also features PCQHRA Breeders Futurity finalist Jessonefamouseagle and trial winner Sister Rae.
Gentry Farms’ Fearless Family, Parsons Ranch’s Tynasty, and Jaime Gomez’s Apollitical Eye MRL all enter in strong form in trial 10, while the Jason Giles-trained Promising looks mighty tough in trial 11. Owned by Tungsten Racing, Barron Racing, Mario Ortega, and Empire Racing, Promising won both his All American Futurity and Ruidoso Futurity trials by a half-length. The Allred-bred gelding by Golden Boi has won three races and finished in the top three in all five of his career starts.
Promising will square off against another son of Golden Boi in trial 11, as Rancho Humilde’s Golden Token—the fastest qualifier for the Governor’s Cup—also lines up in this heat. Saul Acosta and Juan Moya’s Test Pilot, a four-time winner and PCQHRA Breeders Futurity finalist, adds even more firepower to the race.
Ed Allred’s Zionsville, the fastest qualifier for the Ed Burke Memorial, leads the way in trial 12. He’ll take on MRB Racing LLC’s Relentless Sonny D, an impressive trial winner at Sunland Park in his lone career outing, and Gamaliel Garza Garcia’s Midnight Rambler, a steady maiden who has finished on the board in all five of his lifetime starts.
In trial 13, Tungsten Racing Partnership’s El Diamante J, a wire-to-wire winner in his All American trial, aims to replicate his half-sister’s victory in the Golden State Million final. Bred by Jaime Gomez, he is a half-brother to champion J Fire Up, who won this million-dollar event in 2017. Steve Burns and Jeryl Hartley’s Ed Burke finalist MP Jess Rockin and the talented John Stinebaugh trainee Liionesss are among the other top names in the 13th heat.
The night concludes with an evenly matched group of juveniles in trial 14, headlined by PCQHRA Breeders Futurity finalist Celtic Cowboy, Rainbow trial runner-up Tempting Lilly, and recent eye-catching maiden winner Beautify. The Colorado-bred Golden Boi gelding Dios Dorado, who enters on a two-race winning streak for owners Matt and Amy Bretz alongside Brad, Ronald, and Melany Shalz, is another primary contender in the nightcap.'
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