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© Scott Martinez
LOS ALAMITOS, CA—FEBRUARY 16, 2020—Lucky Seven Ranch's Sass Mo Blue overcame a troubled start and surged late to get the money in the $109,500 Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes on Sunday at Los Alamitos.
Ridden by Jesus Rios Ayala, the winner of the 2020 StallioneSearch Rising Star Jockey Award, Sass Mo Blue stumbled and bumped out of the gate from post number two, but he recovered to find his stride and then powered his way into contention before outdueling Dunn Ranch's Aint Working by a neck to win the 350-yard race.
Trained by Mike Casselman, the homebred gelding covered the distance in :17.547 while finishing the final 220 yards in a solid time of :09.520.
© Scott Martinez
He earned $45,990 for this win and his career earnings now stand at $52,240. Prior to his victory in the trials to the Maiden Stakes, Sass Mo Blue finished second to Cattail Cove in a trial to the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity. Cattail Cove went on to finish second in the Two Million to eventual AQHA champion 2-year-old filly Cartel Jess Rockin. Sass Mo Blue, meanwhile, just continues to look better with each and every start. He earned $45,990 for this win and his career earnings now stand at $52,240.
Several winners of the Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes have gone to outstanding career. Donna King's LDS Dash For Dylan went on to become a Grade 1 stakes winner and raced in the Champion of Champions, while J. Garvan Kelly and Nancy Yearsley's Royal Proclamation became a graded derby winner. Sass Mo Blue's promising development and wonderful breeding could mean that he could be headed for future success.
© Scott Martinez
Sass Mo Blue was gelded following his maiden start, which was a fourth place finish on May 19. He was gelded in July and he's finished third or better in every one of his starts from that point on.
"We fought some shins on him early last year," Casselman said. "That hurt him right off the bat. We were a little bit late (gelding) him and he's just improved each time. He's a lot easier to get along with and he always has a lot of fun doing his job. He trains really well. He's going to make a really nice 3-year-old. He showed a lot of guts (tonight). He could have given up, but he dug in and got it done."
"(Sass Mo Blue) was standing nicely and I thought he was going to have a nice start," the jockey said. "He broke so hard that he stumbled out of there. He recovered quickly and he went after the field. I could see (Aint Working) on the outside. He was giving the strongest challenge, but we were able to hold him off at the end. This horse is just maturing more and more. He's just getting better and better."
Ridden by Armando Cervantes for trainer Monty Arrossa, Aint Working ran a tremendous race from the outside post number nine. The son of Favorite Cartel battled every step of the way and crossed the wire a neck ahead of Jeryl or Ron Hartley's Jespinky for second place. The California-bred gelding earned $18,615 for running second. He covered the distance in :17.576.
Bred in California by Steven Burns, Aint Working is out of the Corona Cartel mare Working Girl Blues.
Trained by John Cooper and ridden by Juan Pablo Leon, Jespinky earned $13,140 for finishing third. Also by Favorite Cartel, the Hartley homebred is out of Jess A Habit by Separatist.
Sounds Good, Vegas Corona, Dance Dakota Dance, Black Jack MV, Kates First Down, and Loose On Katella completed the field.
Courtesy of www.losalamitos.com.