LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, CYPRESS, CA… In a performance that lived up to both her name and her talent, Keith Nellesen’s Beuteefulgave her owner the victory he wanted most by overcoming some early trouble to win the Grade 1, $415,500 Los Alamitos Oaks on Saturday night.
Entering the gate as the fastest qualifier but the second choice at 2-1, the gray daughter of KVN Corona shook off a bump at the start to take the lead at the midway point over 12-1 longshot CM Jessa Blue Monday, while also outdueling the highly touted Ruse Ticle Knockout for the win.
Breaking from post position number one—the exact same spot from which she secured her victory in the Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity last year—Beuteeful left no doubt that she’s California’s leading filly. While her trial win was described by observers as “not the prettiest” due to a slow break following distractions before the start, the final was a different story entirely. Under a precise ride by Rodrigo Sigala Vallejo for trainer Kristen Watanabe, Beuteeful showed her toughness early, surged later, and maintaining her advantage to the wire. She stopped the clock in :19.718, crossing the finish line a head in front of Randy Dickerson’s CM Jessa Blue Monday.
With this victory, Beuteeful bolsters a resume that already included a stellar freshman year headlined by her Kindergarten win. A winner in five of seven starts in 2025, Beuteeful also qualified for the Grade 1 Golden State Million Futurity and the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity. Her wins in the Oaks trial and the final bring her career tally to seven wins from nine starts, with total earnings of $488,172 after securing the $174,510 winner’s share on Saturday. By adding a Grade 1 trophy to her Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity win, she joins an elite list of past victors like Asscher, the 2024 AQHA World Champion, and Shaken Goin On, the 2025 PCQHRA Horse of the Year and AQHA champion 3-year-old filly. In addition, Beuteeful’s impressive resume further cements the Los Alamitos Oaks as one of the premier proving grounds for three-year-old fillies.
Bred by McColee Land & Livestock, Beuteeful is by KVN Corona and out of the graded stakes-placed mare Budder Think Twice ($134,745). Notably, Beuteeful seems to have a fondness for the rail; both her Oaks trial and final wins came from post one, just like her Kindergarten victory.
“Evidently, she gets it,” Nellesen said of Beuteeful’s affinity for racing from the inside. “We’ve had post one in three out of her four finals and in a couple of the trials. She’s just a great horse. She’s gritty. We knew after last time that she needed a race in her to get fit. She’s almost had two and a half seasons—an early season, the fall, and now this. We’d like to give her a little break now. I actually went and pulled a win picture from the Kindergarten and found the exact same outfit, so I will be wearing this shirt and this coat from here on out.”
A lucky shirt and a fitting name were all part of an exemplary performance by the aptly named filly.
“She’s what we think horses should look like,” Nellesen said. “Not just racehorses; she’s what we think a Quarter Horse should look like. I wanted this win more than any win ever. She was just a beautiful filly, so you have to come up with interesting ways to spell things. I name them all. She was one that we love, and we’ve had such great luck with that cross of KVN Corona and her mother. We’ve run third (Think Again Kev), second (My Budd), and first (Beuteeful) in the Kindergarten with this cross in the last three years.”
Sigala Vallejo, a “big money” rider, noted after the trials that she is a horse who can overcome adversity, including confusing situations like being reloaded after a gate delay. On Saturday night there was no confusion: Beuteeful was the class of the Los Alamitos Oaks field.
While there was potential for a “Beauty vs. Knockout” rivalry between Beuteeful and the high-priced newcomer Ruse Ticle Knockout, it was a longshot who completed the exacta. CM Jessa Blue Monday, trained by Luke Lindsey for owner Randy Dickerson, followed up her surprise 15-1 trial victory with a strong second-place finish at 12-1. Breaking from the outside post 10, the Oregon-bred daughter of Cyber Monday put in a huge run to outduel Ruse Ticle Knockout by a half-length to earn the runner-up check of $70,635. Jesus Rios Ayala piloted the Dickerson homebred.
Owned by Mi Serenity and trained by Eddie Willis, Ruse Ticle Knockout broke well and chased the leaders throughout. While she was unable to reel in Beuteeful and was ultimately caught late by the runner-up, she held on for third, putting in a game effort with Edwin Escobedo up. The Apollitical Jess filly earned $49,860 for the night, taking her lifetime total to $174,716.
The top three finishers were followed by 2025 Ed Burke Million runner-up French Valley and then You Are The Best, Diamond Cowgirl 123, Shiny New, Fancy Upp, and Elemyntal. Walk When I Walk was scratched earlier in the day.
By Orlando Gutierrez via Media
