AJ YOUR FAVORITE IS SHARP FROM THE START, WINS THE PCQHRA BREEDERS FUTURITY

Larry and Bobbie Rice’s AJ Your Favorite went from being a little spicy in the trials to sweet and razor-sharp in the $300,000 Grade 2 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity final on Sunday night at Los Alamitos, behaving perfectly before the race to post a gate-to-wire victory.

Ridden by Justine Klaiber—the meet’s leading Quarter Horse jockey—for trainer Eddie Willis, AJ Your Favorite broke cleanly from post six, established an early lead, and overcame lugging out down the stretch to hold off Juniors Quarter Horses’ Rational by a half-length. AJ Your Favorite stopped the clock in :17.578 for the 350-yard dash.

Her calm demeanor was a stark contrast to her trial effort, where she became a bit rambunctious and unseated Klaiber before loading, before settling down during a starting delay. The time between trial and final worked wonders for the daughter of Apollitical Jess out of Favorite Wise Lady, as she returned focused strictly on winning.

“She was perfect in the gates and she left on top,” Klaiber said. “She left great. She wanted to get out at the end. That worried me a little bit. I was trying not to keep her from running.”

Klaiber did a great job handling the delicate balance of keeping AJ Your Favorite from drifting too far while ensuring the filly maintained maximum speed. In the end, it was great work by both the leading rider and the California-bred filly.

“I’m proud of the rider and the horse,” Willis said.

“(AJ Your Favorite) seemed to be a lot more relaxed,” Willis added. “They got her by the gates good and she didn’t get all stirred up down there. I think that helped her leave the gates a lot better this time. She ran a perfect race. They’re supposed to win when they leave like that. We let her be herself. She’s really calm in the barn area.”

Klaiber, a PCQHRA Special Achievement Award winner in 2024 and 2025, is now aiming to become the first female jockey to win the Quarter Horse riding title at Los Alamitos. She leads the standings with 40 wins this season, holding a two-win advantage over Martin Arriaga.

“I just keep working hard and get after it every day and doing the grind,” Klaiber said. “I try to learn something new every day. I get on all these horses every day and we really get to know each other.”

With Los Alamitos currently hosting two weeks of daytime racing for the Southern California Thoroughbred circuit, Klaiber scored her first Thoroughbred victory at the Southern California circuit aboard Ebok’s Dream Girl at 7-1 odds on Saturday afternoon.

“That was a surprise and a lot of fun,” Klaiber said.

AJ Your Favorite was a bit of a surprise as well in the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity, lighting up the tote board at 13-1. The heavy favorite was Cv Fdddinasty Shan, who entered the race undefeated in four starts, including a victory in the Grade 1 Ed Burke Memorial Futurity. Purchased for $71,000 at the Ruidoso Yearling Sale, the California-bred filly earned $121,800 for the win, improving her overall record to four victories from six starts. She has won three straight and boosted her career earnings to $139,134. Bred by Rancho El Cabresto, AJ Your Favorite’s dam, Favorite Wise Lady, earned $94,185 in her career and finished second in the 2018 Governor’s Cup Futurity.

“She’ll get a little break until the trials to the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity,” Willis said.

Ridden by Armando Cervantes for trainer Paul Jones, Rational broke from post one and put in a late charge to finish second at 20-1 odds. The filly by Favorite Cartel out of champion Quirky was sixth early before closing furiously in the final 150 yards to edge James Markum and Steve Burns’ Indiana Fever (40-1) by a nose. Jones, who won a race earlier on the card, now sits nine wins shy of tying Blane Schvaneveldt’s track record of 3,982 Quarter Horse victories. Rational earned $49,300 for her runner-up finish, while Indiana Fever, ridden by Armando Viramontes for trainer Mike Casselman, collected $34,800 for third.

J. Francisco Diaz’s Cv Fdddinasty Shan trailed early from post 10, picked up steam during the late stages, and finished fourth for trainer Lindolfo Diaz and jockey Jesus Rios Ayala, earning $20,300.

The complete order of finish behind the top four was Jessonefamouseagle, Test Pilot, Uptick, Celtic Cowboy, Famous Cowboy To You, and Nuclear Arsenal.

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