Call Me Candela (#9), under jockey Jose Rosario Alcala, won the Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity on Sunday at Los Alamitos Race Course.

© William Zuazo

LOS ALAMITOS, CA–MAY 10, 2026–Miguel Osorio’s homebred filly Call Me Candela was a bit restless in the gate, but once the latch popped for the Grade 2, $254,500 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity, she was all business.

Breaking sharply from post five, the filly engaged in a spirited three-way duel with Monday Dynasty and Jaque before surging ahead to capture the meet’s first major futurity on Sunday night at Los Alamitos.

Piloting the winner was 20-year-old jockey Jose Rosario Alcala, who entered the night with only two career Quarter Horse wins to his credit. Despite his limited experience in the irons in big money races, Alcala showed veteran composure in the Kindergarten, guiding Call Me Candela to victory at odds of 4-1. At the wire, Call Me Candela held off the late charge of the Cyber Monday gelding Monday Dynasty by a neck, with the filly Jaque finishing a close third.

For trainer Jose Flores, the victory marked his fifth Kindergarten win, the third-most victories by a trainer in the 72-year history of the race. It was Flores' first win in the juvenile classic since Old Girl in 2014. Flores also conditioned third-place finisher Jaque, fourth-place finisher Romoland, and sixth-place finisher My Favorite Paris.

In contrast to Flores’ decades of success, the young pilot Alcala arrived at this milestone with a much shorter resume. His only other career straightaway wins came with Call Me Candela during the trials on April 19 and with Angela Aquino’s Good Reason Jess back in February 2024. Aquino has provided Alcala with most of his riding opportunities, primarily with Thoroughbreds, where the Fontana native has won a total of 11 races.

The Alcala family are part of the celebration with winning rider Jose Rosario Alcala. © William Zuazo

Aquino and owner Ashley Garcia were the ones who encouraged Alcala to branch out and try riding Quarter Horses. They recommended him to Flores, who gave Alcala his big break on the night of the Kindergarten trials. After steering the filly—out of the Favorite Cartel mare DF First Down Cartel—to a qualifying win, Alcala earned the assignment on Call Me Candela for the final.

In the winner’s circle, Alcala was greeted by a large crowd of family and friends. "First, I’m so thankful and feel blessed to have this opportunity," Alcala said, grinning from ear to ear. "To be truthful, I don’t have the words to be more thankful for this. I want to say thanks to my family who came to support me. My horse was moving around a little bit, but she broke nicely and took off. We were right there with the other filly (Jaque). To be honest, tonight I really felt the pressure in the final yards, but I’m just so thankful that we got it. When you cross the finish line and you realize that this became your turn to win a race, I didn’t even know how to react. It just felt so good, really good.

"To have all my family here—my dad, who has always supported me; my mother, who has always prayed for me; and my brothers, who have also always been there for me—it truly is priceless to have them by my side tonight. I also want to thank the owner for giving me a chance to ride La Candela. She truly is a great filly. For Jose Flores, he’s a very good person and the one who gave me the opportunity to be here. He’s a great boss. I just hope we keep it going with Candela."

Jockey Jose Rosario Alcala and trainer Jose Flores with the Kindergarten winner's blanket. © William Zuazo

The victory was also a triumph for owner Miguel Osorio’s breeding program. Osorio is the owner of the winning stallion Call Me Cole, a highly successful runner during his own 15-race career. Owned by Reliance Ranches as a juvenile in 2017, Call Me Cole was a Grade 1 finalist in the Golden State Million and placed third to champion J Fire Up in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity. The following year in 2018, Call Me Cole qualified to the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Super Derby before running fourth in that year’s Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trials. Osorio purchased the son of Corona Cartel before the start of 2020, running him once before retiring him to stud.

Call Me Cole currently stands at Rancho Los 3 Reyes in Hollister, California, with a 2026 stallion fee of $1,500. His progeny also includes the Flores-trained Call Me Soft, another filly owned and bred by Osorio.

Now a winner of two of three career starts, Call Me Candela covered the 300 yards in :15.706, earning $107,455 for the victory. She remains eligible for the upcoming trials for the Ed Burke Million Futurity on Sunday, May 31.

Monday Dynasty, trained by J.J. Gonzales II and ridden by Edwin Escobedo, earned $43,830 for his runner-up effort. Jaque, owned and bred by Rojas Racing and ridden by Irving Lara, took home $31,105 for third. The remaining field crossed the wire as follows: Romoland, AP Eagle Heart, and My Favorite Paris.

The runner-up, Monday Dynasty, earned $43,830 with Edwin Escobedo up. Bred by Cavenaugh Quarter Horses LLC and trained by J.J. Gonzales II, the gelding delivered a tremendous effort from the outside post. The KVN Corona filly Jaque, owned and bred by Rojas Racing and ridden by Irving Lara, took home $31,105 for third. The top three finishers were followed across the wire by Romoland, AP Eagle Heart, and My Favorite Paris.

Contentious, Bridgewater, Cyber Eyes, and Teller Looks MRL were stewards' scratches prior to the running of the final.

*******************

Would you like more industry news delivered directly to your inbox? Click here to sign up.