Eduardo Nicasio guides Contentious to victory in the $290,000 Governor's Cup Futurity (RG1) on California Breeders Champions Night at Los Alamitos.

© William Zuazo

By Orlando Gutierrez

CYPRESS, CA–JULY 26, 2026–After posting two impressive wins to start her racing career, Jose Santos and Manuel Chavez’s Contentious looked like a future futurity winner. That promise fully came through on Sunday night at Los Alamitos in the $290,000 Governor’s Cup Futurity (RG1), as the blue-blooded filly proved much the best in the second half of the 350-yard dash to win the richest race on California Breeders Champions Night by a head over Steve Burns’ Lonely At Night.

Ridden by Eduardo Nicasio from post position five, Contentious broke in slightly before rallying strongly down the stretch, stopping the clock in :17.780 over a fast track. Sent off at 4-1 odds, she paid $11.60 to win.

The victory marked her third career win and her first since moving to the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Paul Jones. Jones and co-owner Jose Santos had enjoyed major racing success together before, most notably by teaming up with the Grade 1 winner Frankie Shoots from 2006 to 2009.

Winning connections of Contentious. © William Zuazo

"This is Eduardo's second time riding the filly and he's learned how to ride her and the best way to make her work," Jones said. "He said she's better off with him just hand riding her. He doesn't need to use the riding crop with her. He learned about her. It was a beautiful ride. It was the best she’d got out of the gate. The filly has always shown talent. Before I got her, she showed some pretty nice races. She's had trouble getting out of the gate, but she had a nice clean trip tonight."

For Santos, the victory marked his first major futurity title.

"We had to wait a little bit for her first [futurity win] but that makes it sweeter," Santos reflected. "It was a nice surprise. I never lost faith in her. Unfortunately, in her previous races she was bumped a little. It's not an excuse. It's just things that happen. Someone must win and tonight it was our turn. I can't tell you how it feels. All I can do is look up and be thankful. I felt that if she could repeat one of her first two races that she would be right there. We hope that in the future she can continue to give us these types of satisfactions."

Early in the meet, Contentious won her racing debut by 1 1/2 lengths and set the fastest qualifying time to the Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity, while simultaneously holding the season's fastest 220 and 300-yard clockings. Bred by Steve D. Burns DVM, the daughter of Favorite Cartel out of Champion Quirky earned $119,700 for the win. She boosted her career earnings to $138,071 across five starts, having finished in the top two in every career outing.

Steve Burns’ homebred Lonely At Night, a Favorite Cartel filly out of matriarch Remember Me Rose, finished second under jockey Justine Klaiber for trainer Mike Casselman, earning $48,450. Shes Jess Shinning (E. Gasca) finished third, followed by Still Standing (O.M. Peinado), 1-1 favorite Terrific Favorite (J.R. Ayala), Quite Perfect (M. Arriaga), and Dulce Luchadora (H.R. Lopez). Niece Laura was scratched.

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