Graded Futurity Finalists Jaque And Demarus Face Off At Los Alamitos, $32,613 Pick Six Carryover On Tap In Saturday Program

Rojas Racing’s homebred filly Jaque, who ignited her career with a pair of victories followed by a strong third-place finish in the Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity, looks to return to the winner's circle when she takes on a solid group of juveniles in Saturday night’s featured $13,600 allowance race at 350 yards at Los Alamitos.

The eight-race program will also feature a $32,613 Pick Six Carryover and with the new money to be wagered on Saturday, the total pool could be over $120,000. Saturday night's live racing program at Los Alamitos gets underway after a huge simulcast day of racing highlighted by the Breeders’ Cup to be held at Keeneland. Los Alamitos will open its gates at 8 a.m. with the Vessels Club opening at 9 a.m. For Vessels Club reservations call 714-820-2681.

Jaque will face a quality field that also features George Seward and Fernando Manriquez’s Demarus, a talented gelding by Dulce Sin Tacha who ran fourth in the Grade 1, $1,159,000 Heritage Place Futurity at Remington Park on May 30. Bred by Valley Farm out of the $49,000 earner Indie Anna, Demarus began his career with back-to-back victories, including a half-length win in his Heritage Place trial. Now trained by Eddie Willis, Demarus will be ridden by Justine Klaiber. Edwin Escobedo piloted him in his three starts at Remington Park and was impressed by the gelding from the start.

“After I worked him the first time, I called my agent and told him that he was one of the fastest 2-year-olds I had been on all winter,” Escobedo said during an interview on the Heritage Place Sale YouTube Channel. “He’s a competitive force and he gets mad when there’s a horse next to him. He wants to get tough, he wants to do more and he wants to get ahead.”

Klaiber, the meet’s co-leading rider, will be aboard Demarus from post position one for his California debut.

Similarly to Demarus, Jaque has consistently faced top-tier competition. Trained by Jose Flores, the KVN Corona filly was an impressive 1¼-length winner in her racing debut on March 21—a 220-yard dash that marked the very first race of the season for two-year-olds. She followed up with another sharp victory in her Kindergarten trial before running a game third in the Kindergarten final behind Call Me Candela. The talented youngster subsequently gained greater experience against top notch rivals in trials for both the Ed Burke Million Futurity and the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity, picking up a third and a sixth-place finish along the way.

As she returns to the allowance ranks, Jaque will look to flash the early speed that carried her to back-to-back victories in the early spring. She boasts a strong pedigree as well; her dam, Ivys Storm, is a multiple stakes-placed earner of $43,000 who hit the board in the 2015 Golden State Juvenile Stakes and Holiday Handicap.

The feature event has drawn several other notable contenders, including EG High Desert Farms’ L A Ravin, who ran a sharp second in her 400-yard trial to the Golden State Million Futurity. A two-time winner in her career, L A Ravin briefly led in that high-level trial before giving way late. Perhaps Saturday's cutback in distance will play heavily to her strengths.

The competitive field is rounded out by Dice Game, El Emperador D, Go Go Ki Ki Go, and Gunz An Roses. The latter arrives with sharp credentials, having won two of three career starts, capped by a victory in the AQRA Open President's Spring Juvenile Stakes at Turf Paradise on May 2.

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

Stay Connected With StallioneSearch

Don't miss the latest Quarter Horse racing news, stakes results, breeding announcements, and industry updates. CLICK HERE to subscribe to the FREE StallioneSearch Newsletter.