James Smith Memorial Handicap A Famous Ribbon will start in the opening trial for the $155,300 Southern California Derby(G2) on Sunday night at Los Alamitos.

© Amber Mendez

LOS ALAMITOS, CA—NOVEMBER 25, 2022–Trials to the Grade 2, $155,300 Southern California Derby will headline the 10-race program on Sunday night at Los Alamitos.

A total of 28 sophomores will be equally divided in four divisional heats to the 400-yard derby. The trials will make up the Late Pick Four sequence on Sunday night, which should lead to an excellent betting pool.

These are also the final stakes trials of the meet, and as usual the horses with the 10 fastest times will advance to the Southern California Derby final.

The opening heat features a field of stakes experienced runners. Jose Adrian Aleman’s A Famous Ribbon won the James Smith Memorial Handicap and finished fourth in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby. Dunn Ranch’s In Hott Pursuit, fresh off an appearance in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Super Derby, will also be in action in this race while also looking to qualify to his fourth graded stakes final.

Others in this race include Dream A Secret Handicap winner Up The Ladder and Rancho El Cabresto, Inc’s Apollitical J Streak, who ran in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity last year.          

S-Quarter K, Robyn Gordon, and Juan Moya’s Dasha Dynasty won the Town Policy Handicap in his last start and now heads the second derby trial. He’ll face the likes of 2021 stakes winner Jess Anothercommando, who has won five of 11 career starts.

K, Gordon, and Moya will also be represented by Dasha Good Reason, who had a big finish to cross the wire fifth in the Super Derby. He’ll race in the final trial and will face Howard Nichols’ Jess Being A Friend, the runner-up in last year’s Two Million.    

Dunn Ranch’s Whizkey Glasses is among the biggest names slated to compete in these trials. The son of FDD Dynasty is a Grade 1 stakes winner and will enter the third trial after running fourth to Powerful Favorite in the Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trials when looking to qualify to the Grade 1 Champion of Champions.

A winner of the Golden State Million Futurity last year, Whizkey Glasses also won the Heritage Place Derby at Remington Park earlier this year.

Ed Allred’s stakes winner Watch Out is another of the top contenders in this heat.

Other trial hopefuls include Unavailable, Insider Information, and Look Up.

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For more info, please contact larace@losalamitos.com. Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @losalracing or visit us online at losalamitos.com.