Cattail Cove will seek his second career Grade 1 victory in Sunday night's Restricted Grade 1, $100,000 Spencer Childers California Breeders Championship Handicap.

© William Zuazo

By Orlando Gutierrez

CYPRESS, CA–JULY 24, 2026–The ageless wonder Cattail Cove will seek his second career Grade 1 victory—and a historic spot in the track's record books—when he defends his title in Sunday night's Restricted Grade 1, $100,000 Spencer Childers California Breeders Championship Handicap.

Owned by Link Newcomb and trained by Juan Aleman, the 9-year-old gelding by Favorite Cartel enters off a gallant runner-up effort to champion Lethal Cowboy 123 in the Grade 1 Vessels Maturity on June 27. Cattail Cove boasts a phenomenal career record of 14 wins and 40 top-three finishes from 62 starts, with lifetime earnings of $880,405. He has been in white-hot form, winning six of his last 12 outings, five of those in stakes company.

A victory on Sunday would mark his 10th lifetime stakes win at Los Alamitos—a milestone achieved by only 16 other horses in the track's 76-year history. It was in this very race last year that an 8-year-old Cattail Cove captured his first Grade 1 title, winning by a decisive half-length in :19.919 over the 400 yards. Now making his 63rd career start, the Steve Burns-bred gelding out of Katie Katella has competed in either a stakes race or a stakes trial in 58 of his 62 career outings.

Aleman, who has cared for the horse since his earliest days, marveled at his star gelding's longevity and heart:

“He’s the longest horse I’ve ever had in my barn,” Aleman said. “I’ve had him since he was two. We broke him, we brought him along, he’s a special horse for the barn. I’m so thankful to Link for giving me the opportunity to train a horse like this. The horse has so much heart. Perhaps, he’s lost a step at the start with age, but once he gets rolling and if they’re not too far away from him, he seems to know where the finish line is and get there before the other horses do. He’s an amazing animal to see him running at the level that he’s running at his age.”

Cattail Cove will once again have regular pilot Martin Arriaga in the irons from post three as he leads a stacked field of California-bred stars.

Standing in his way is a formidable four-horse entry from owner Ed Allred and trainer Scott Willoughby, all with previous success on California Breeders Champions Night: Boardwalk, who finished second to Cattail Cove in last year’s Spencer Childers; Cheater, winner of the 2024 Jens List Handicap; Up For Everything, who won the Sprint Stakes last year; and Defending Champ, winner of the 2025 Governor's Cup Derby.

Adding further star power are full brothers Cyber Force and Epic Wind, owned by Rosenthal Ranch and trained by Paul Jones. Both males hail from the legendary cross of Favorite Cartel out of Remember Me Rose, a bloodline that has produced countless champions, Grade 1 winners, and millionaires. Steve Burns' Winners Share, who pushed Cattail Cove to the brink when finishing second in the Kaweah Bar Handicap earlier this year, completes the elite lineup.

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

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