Luna Sofia proved that the fourth time was the charm for her, earning her elusive maiden victory while holding off Ed Allred’s Irately by a head in the $54,000 Los Alamitos Claiming Futurity on Sunday night.

© William Zuazo

By Orlando Gutierrez

CYPRESS, CA–AUGUST 16, 2026–After posting second-place finishes in each of her previous three starts, EG High Desert Farms’ Luna Sofia proved that the fourth time was the charm for her, earning her elusive maiden victory while holding off Ed Allred’s Irately by a head in the $54,000 Los Alamitos Claiming Futurity on Sunday night.

Ridden by Gabriel Lara for trainer Jesus Nunez, Luna Sofia led the 350-yard final from start to finish en route to recording her first win in six career starts after covering the distance in :17.923. The daughter of A Mere Felix will be returning to her stall at the EG High Desert barn at Los Alamitos, as she was not claimed from the race.

In the Claiming Futurity, horses cannot be claimed in the trials but are eligible to be claimed for $16,000 each in the final. While the winner was not claimed, Irately was one of three horses claimed out of the race. From a three-way shake, Irately went for $16,000 to owner Jose Santos and trainer Paul Jones. Emperador D had the most claims submitted, and from a six-way shake, he went to owner Rodolfo Barrientos for trainer Angela Aquino. In a five-way shake, Marcia Garcia won the right to claim Favorite Shine, who now goes to trainer Diego Cervantes. A total of 14 claim slips were submitted on the three horses.

Winning connections of Luna Sofia. © William Zuazo

“When you decide to run in this race, you have to go in with the thinking that your runner will be claimed,” Enrique Gonzalez of EG High Desert Farms said. “It’s a risk, but I would have been happy either way. I would have been fine if she had been claimed because a new owner would have enjoyed her just like I have. Now we’ll keep enjoying her and racing her at Los Alamitos.”

Ana Gonzalez chose the name for Luna Sofia.

“Sofia is the name of my granddaughter,” she said. “When this filly was born, she was very small and also had a tiny marking on her face that looked like a moon.”

“This feels great,” Gonzalez added. “She’s a small filly, but she left great away from the gate and never gave up in the later part of the race. She worked hard, and I'm very thankful to have won this race.”

Some of the horses claimed from this race in past years have gone on to great success, including Hay Shaker, whom Jones saddled to victory in this race. Hay Shaker was claimed from this race and went on to qualify for three Grade 1 stakes races. Show N Tell Cartel is another success story. While he did not win the Claiming Futurity, he later won the Grade 2 El Primero Del Año Derby for the connections that claimed him from the 2024 running of this race.

Luna Sofia earned $22,680 for the win to take her career earnings to $27,985. Her dam is Catalina Rocket, a winner of four races and $44,489 in her racing career. She finished in the top three in 13 of 25 career starts.

Ridden by Cesar Ortega for trainer James Glenn, Jr., Irately earned $9,180 for running second. The Allred-bred runner is a gelding by Golden Boi out of Heatedly, who won three races and earned over $44,000 in her 21-race career. Trained by Valentin Zamudio for Jesus Cuevas, Otherworldly earned $6,480 for running third with Ruben Lozano in the irons. Favorite Shine, Emperador D, Mp Express, and Shining Bright completed the field.

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