Zionsville headlines the Grade 1, $960,000 Ed Burke Memorial Futurity on Sunday night at Los Alamitos.

© Los Alamitos

By Orlando Gutierrez

LOS ALAMITOS, CA–JUNE 19, 2026–Hall of Fame owner/breeder Dr. Ed Allred enters a formidable three-pronged attack led by fastest qualifier Zionsville and the surging Friend Indeed, while the father-and-son combination of owner J. Francisco Diaz and trainer Lindolfo Diaz will saddle a trio of top contenders in the running of the Grade 1, $960,000 Ed Burke Memorial Futurity on Sunday night at Los Alamitos.

The Ed Burke is scheduled as the eighth and final race on the card, which also includes the Vandy’s Flash Handicap in race six and the Ed Burke Juvenile Consolation in race seven. First post is 5:40 p.m

Leading the Ed Burke charge for Allred is Zionsville, who stopped the clock in the opening trial in a stellar :17.739. Bred by Steve Burns and James Markum, the gelding by Mpshinning displayed tremendous mid-race acceleration under young rider Cesar Ortega, hitting a stride that saw him cover the final 220 yards in a blazing :09.65.

He aims to provide Allred with his first Ed Burke victory since teaming up with Paul Jones to capture the 2008 renewal with the champion Foose. Allred also won the race in 1995 with Mega Storm.

“Zionsville has run up to his breeding,” said trainer James Glenn, Jr., who saddles both Zionsville and fellow qualifier Friend Indeed. “He has a very strong mare side and is by a great young sire. He’s just keeps getting better and better, from his (morning) qualifying effort to his first two races, he just improves each time.”

Glenn recalled the gelding's developmental milestones through the spring. “In his first qualifier, he kind of hopped out of there and ducked around. His rider got hold of him and he rolled up to his company and went :12.8, but you could really see him finish as they went around the turn.

Then he went :12.2, same thing he went okay. He was a little timid but same thing, once he caught his stride, he rolled up to his company and went :12.2. In his first out, he broke but he was still green to go on but, in his trial, it totally changed and it clicked. He was a horse that knew what he was doing. He went on from there. With him and his fast time in the :17.70s, I knew we were okay. You never know because all it takes is one very fast race, but we knew that we would be right there."

While Zionsville will attract heavy mutuel support from post five, stablemate Friend Indeed enters as a dangerous sleeper from post nine. The Favorite Cartel colt ran a closing second to Nuclear Arsenal in his trial, stopping the clock in :17.840 under veteran stakes rider Oscar Peinado.

"With Friend Indeed, we had to sweat it out," Glenn admitted. "He’s just a beautiful horse. He’s still a colt and we feel like he’s also just going to get better and better every race. You can see that we ran him one more time in a maiden race before the trials, which is not usually me, but he’s big, strong and sound and we felt that mentally, he needed that extra race. We galloped him this morning and he just felt like a million bucks. We feel like he’s going to come into his own. He’s just starting to get it. He’s bred to run the second half of the year (longer distances) and really go 400 yards. We feel really blessed with these two horses coming into his race about as good as you can get them.”

Glenn also heaped praise on Ortega, who has retained the mount on the 7/2 morning-line favorite. “I broke some of these horses and Cesar helped me a lot. He came out and loped them and he’s a good hand. He started out with Quarter Horses then went to ride Thoroughbreds. I told him, hey you need to come and ride these Quarter Horses. He’s just talented. They get away from the gate for him. He doesn’t crack under the pressure and if I have favorite in the race, he’s answered the call just about every time. Zionsville is a perfect example. He’s an up and coming rider and we have the confident in the world in him.”

Completing the Allred trio is the homebred Faultless (:17.850), a son of Golden Boi trained by Scott Willoughby and ridden by Gabriel Lara, who earned his spot by showing grit to win the eighth trial of the evening.

The final field sets up a superb battle across the track, starting with second-fastest qualifier Nuclear Arsenal in post position one. Moving outward, the gate features Mp Jess Rockin in post two, Flying Dynasty 123 in post three, and CV Fdddinasty Shan in post four. The fastest qualifier, Zionsville, has drawn the center of the track in post five, flanked by Faultless in post six, Flying Sin Tacha in post seven, Dulce Luchadora in post eight, Friend Indeed in post nine, and Grade 2 Kindergarten Futurity winner Call Me Candela on the far outside in post ten.

Father’s Day Festivities for the Diaz Stable

For owner J. Francisco Diaz and his son, trainer Lindolfo Diaz, Sunday’s final represents a special family moment. The team qualified three separate runners to the final—Flying Dynasty 123, CV Fdddinasty Shan, and Dulce Luchadora.

“My dad was super happy about the way our horses ran,” Lindolfo Diaz remarked. “Last year was an off year. We didn’t have much luck, not as good as stock. We couldn’t have asked for better on the night of the trials.”

The road to qualifying was filled with tension, particularly regarding CV Fdddinasty Shan, an undefeated Jga Racing Stables-bred gelding by FDD Dynasty. Placed in the 12th and final trial of the evening, his connections watched anxiously as track variants seemed to slow.

“I was a little scared when I’ve seen the trial before and they went something like 18 flat. That worried me," Lindolfo explained. "I also knew that with Blackk Magic in that final trial plus with my horse included that there were multiple winners in that trial. It was going to be one of the harder trials, so I was just hoping for the best and a fast time. I wasn’t confident time wise but I knew that horse of Paul Jones (Jessonefamouseagle) was very fast and had broken his maiden in the :15.40s. For them to go :18 something, that made me nervous. It showed a lot to do as well and as fast in that final trial. On trial night, the later in the night for some reason you tend to see that that air gets a little heavier. It’s usually better to be in an earlier trial when it’s daytime. I benefited from that with my other two (qualifiers) being in the daytime."

CV Fdddinasty Shan overcame the cooling temperatures to win his heat by a neck in :17.831. "All three of my qualifiers are game. CV Fdddinasty Shan has always done things right. He’s super game, no bad habits and just leaves the gates well. Armando (Viramontes) had told me that he seems like a horse that will not break because he’s so quiet, but he breaks really good. He turned it around after the first breeze. He was very green but from that point on he started to figure things out. I could tell after that first (work) that he was a different horse. He’s been all business. After his first breeze I didn’t think I had something special, but now that I’m thinking about that second (work) was lot better and it switched things around."

Diaz also praised his talented runner Flying Dynasty 123. "I like CV Fdddinasty Shan a lot, but to being honest I think I like Flying Dynasty 123 the most," Diaz revealed. "He’s a horse that got sick on me before his first start and he was off grain for three weeks. We had to rush him a little bit after he got better and now, he’s training like a monster. We expect a lot from him. I like him a lot."

Flying Dynasty 123 (:17.809) chased Zionsville home to finish second in the opening trial, securing the third-fastest overall mark. The $50,000 Heritage Place Sale graduate will break from post three. Meanwhile, the homebred Foose filly Dulce Luchadora (:17.847) lines up in post eight after completing the trio's qualifying sweep. "Dulce Luchadora really shocked me the most. She had a bad race and got in trouble in her first start. She ran lights out in the trials. She improved so much," Diaz added. "The thing I like the most about my three horses is that usually it’s the third race when the young horses improve the most and show you what they’ve got. If we get a clean race, I’m excited about all three of them and let’s see what happens.”

Top Challengers and the Kindergarten winner

The second-fastest qualifying spot belongs to Nuclear Arsenal (:17.755), an Inspyre colt owned by Dale Winterton and bred by Bobby Cox. Saddled by top conditioner Paul Jones and ridden by big-money jockey Eduardo Nicasio, the $20,000 Heritage Place Sale buy pulled off a 10-1 upset in trial seven, drawing clear to defeat Friend Indeed by a half-length.

Breaking from post ten is the iron-willed filly Call Me Candela (:17.836). Owned by Miguel Osorio and ridden by young Jose Rosario Alcala, she previously captured the Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity on Mother's Day by a nose. Her narrow trial win over Dulce Luchadora sets her up for a historic holiday double.

Veteran trainer Jose Flores handles the filly and looks to capture another Ed Burke title to match his past successes with World Champion Heza Dasha Fire.

“I think her trial win and qualifying for this race vindicated her,” Flores said of Call Me Candela. “She showed that she was good enough to win the Kindergarten and she deserved to win the race and came through by posting the sixth fastest time here. If she can get away fast again, do everything the same, I think she can get a good piece for the Ed Burke final. We’re hoping she can continue her path of success that she’s been in. The Ed Burke is an interesting race because this is really when you start to see horses set themselves apart. When I won it with Heza Dasha Fire, it really meant a lot. He was a super horse. When we took him to the paddock, I felt that we couldn’t get beat. He was such a special horse. Candela is a different horse but I know she’ll try and she tries every single time. Maybe she gets away from there and continue to do what she does.”

Flores also conditions post seven starter Flying Sin Tacha (:17.846), a Pistol Whippin Pose-owned filly who overcame a troubled start under jockey Francisco Calderon to win her trial at 6-1 odds.

Rounding out the line-up in post position two is MP Jess Rockin (:17.814). Owned by Steve Burns and Jeryl Hartley, the daughter of Mpshinning won the sixth trial under Ricardo Ramirez for trainer Sergio Morfin. Out of the 2019 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity winner Cartel Jess Rockin, she represents her dam's first major opportunity at producing a Grade 1 champion. She was tremendous in her trial victory, rocketing to the lead and flying through the lane with one of the most visually impressive efforts on trial night.

Sunday's card also features a special $10,000 Pick 6 Carryover Promotion, adding extra incentive for racing fans looking to capitalize on an outstanding night of racing.

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