Champion Lethal Cowboy 123 will be one of the headliners in the Grade 1, $142,900 Vessels Maturity Sunday night at Los Alamitos Race Course.

© William Zuazo

By Orlando Gutierrez

CYPRESS, CA—JUNE 26, 2026—A fascinating clash of generations takes center stage this Sunday night at Los Alamitos Race Course as 4-year-old champion Lethal Cowboy 123 and ageless wonder Cattail Cove, now 9 years old, headline a star-studded field in the Grade 1, $142,900 Vessels Maturity.

The 400-yard dash represents an opportunity to secure the coveted third "Golden Ticket" of the season: a presumptive berth into the $700,000 Champion of Champions on December 12—the nation’s premier race for older Quarter Horses.

The 10-race program will also feature a different type of golden ticket opportunity for horseplayers, as there will be a Pick Six Carryover of nearly $39,000. With new money projected to be wagered on Sunday, the total pool could approach $175,000.

Named in honor of the legendary Vessels family, who founded Los Alamitos Race Course in 1947, this race serves up a spectacular narrative. While the millionaire Lethal Cowboy 123 represents one of the dominant forces of the sport's younger generation, the heartwarming veteran Cattail Cove continues to defy Father Time, matching strides with rivals nearly half his age.

The marquee name entering this race is the millionaire Lethal Cowboy 123, who has been nearly flawless at the Orange County oval. Owned by the partnership of Caliche Walls Venture, LLC, Alan Isbell, Lance Bland, and Jimmy Barton, "The Cowboy" boasts a stellar record of six wins from eight career outings at Los Alamitos.

Under the guidance of 2024 AQHA Trainer of the Year Marc Jungers and piloted by Edwin Escobedo—the 2025 Val Tonks Award winner as the track’s top rising jockey—Lethal Cowboy 123 will be looking to boost his lifetime earnings of $1,449,162. A dual Grade 1 winner in 2024 with victories in both the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity and the Golden State Million Futurity, his only local blemish prior to this season was a surprising fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Super Derby.

Heavily favored at 6-5 odds in the Grade 1 Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship earlier this season, Lethal Cowboy 123 when gallant in defeat when running second by a nose to Favorite Jesshawk. After Paul Jones-trainees Kevins Wise Corona and Edberg Verde set a blistering early pace, Lethal Cowboy 123 came flying from the outside post nine. He appeared well on his way to adding another trophy to his resume, but Favorite Jesshawk matched him stride-for-stride from the inside at post eight, ultimately edging him by a mere nose.

"The Cowboy" now returns to Los Alamitos after making two stakes appearances at Remington Park over the past few months. The gelding by Flying Cowboy 123 will again start from the outside post nine.

While Lethal Cowboy 123 brings elite star power, the sentimental choice has to be Cattail Cove. "The Old Timer" is back in action following his fairytale victory in the Grade 3 Kaweah Bar Handicap.

Owned by Link Newcomb and trained by Juan Aleman, Cattail Cove won the Kaweah Bar by a nose in dramatic fashion, stopping the clock in a sharp :17.524 over 350 yards. It was his 61st career start and his 14th lifetime victory, nine of which have been stakes races. His longevity has made him a local favorite; this will mark his 60th career start at Los Alamitos, a stretch where he has hit the board in the top three in 39 of those outings. His lifetime bankroll currently sits at $855,432.

Cattail Cove was not originally pointed here, but his connections paid a late supplement to get him into the Vessels Maturity. His career has come full circle; he was a Grade 1 runner-up in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity all the way back in 2019. Now, matching strides with horses nearly half his age, "The Old Timer" aims to prove that his current form is sharp enough to spring a Grade 1 upset under regular pilot Martin Arriaga.

If anyone can match the class of the top two choices, it is Idaho-bred Scoops Dynasty. Bred and owned by Edward and Von Zae McNelis, the 7-year-old brown gelding by Fdd Dynasty out of Bye Sweet Girl has a history of Grade 1 success and big-time racing experience. Over an illustrious 33-start career, Scoops Dynasty has compiled 11 wins and racked up $830,228 in career earnings.

An eight-time stakes winner, Scoops Dynasty has been lethal at the 400-yard distance in the past and has captured some of the sport's most prestigious stakes. His resume includes:

A major victory in the Grade 1 Challenge Championship at Albuquerque on October 19, 2025, earning $135,301 going 440 yards.

Multiple victories in the Grade 1 Go Man Go Handicap at Los Alamitos, winning both the 2023 and 2025 runnings.

A spectacular 3-year-old campaign at Los Alamitos in 2022, where he secured wins in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby and Grade 2 Golden State Derby.

Now trained by Diego Cervantes, he’ll be ridden by Jacob Enriquez, who piloted him to victory in the Go Man Go here last year.

Trainer Dean Frey brings a fresh and highly talented invader to Los Alamitos in the up-and-coming Stetsonn. The 4-year-old sorrel gelding, owned and bred by G.R. & Shaena Carter, is another member of the vibrant new wave of older horses arriving at Los Alamitos. The son of Jess Good Candy out of Stella Lou has won five of his nine lifetime starts for bankroll earnings of $139,778.

Stetsonn defeated Scoops Dynasty earlier this year when taking the Grade 2 AQHA Remington Park Championship Challenge. He also raced in a pair of major derbies last year, running fifth in the Grade 1 Ruidoso Derby to eventual AQHA World Champion FDD Dreams, while also competing in the Remington Park Oklahoma Derby. He’ll be looking to catch the local veterans off guard in the Vessels Maturity. Armando Viramontes will pilot Stetsonn from post number two.

The Vessels Maturity lineup will also include top local stakes winner Show N Tell Cartel and Defending Champ. Show N Tell Cartel, owned by Francos Ranch and Mario Tellez Montiel, finished a respectable sixth in the Brad McKinzie Winter Championship and followed that up with a fourth-place finish behind Cattail Cove in the Kaweah Bar Handicap. His biggest moment was an upset win in the El Primero Del Ano Derby at 10-1 odds last year.

Similarly, Ed Allred’s Defending Champ enters the starting gate seeking a complete reversal of fortune. After finding trouble and finishing eighth in the Winter Championship, this late-running specialist has been brought along deliberately by his connections, who look for him to peak once again this summer. If he can recapture his sharp form from his sophomore campaign, he could shake loose at the midway point and keep on running powerfully to the wire.

The field will be completed by Howard Nichols’ Jess Being A Friend, a stakes winner and former Grade 1 Two Million Futurity runner-up, and CD Horses Inc., Jose Flores, and Robyn Gordon’s Fire Tools 123, who is a five-time local graded stakes finalist since February of 2025.

All in all, the Vessels Maturity promises to be a spectacular showdown of stars, whether it features Lethal Cowboy 123 flexing his millionaire muscles, Cattail Cove proving age is just a number, or Scoops Dynasty adding another Los Alamitos trophy to his resume.

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