Valentin Zamudio’s Beyond Repair and Keith Nellesen’s Beuteeful recorded ¾ lengths victories in their respective trials to the Grade 2, $275,800 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity while posting the two fastest qualifying time on Saturday night at Los Alamitos.
Sixty-one juveniles were in action in the first set of futurity trials at Los Alamitos this season with the horses with the 10 fastest times moving on to the 300-yard final here on Sunday, May 11.
Beyond Repair finished the night as the fastest qualifier after winning the first of eight trials in a time of :15.681. Ridden by Ruben Lozano and trained by Zamudio, Beyond Repair has won both of his career starts, and has been a winner in comfortable fashion each time. Prior to this trial victory, the Steve Burns-bred gelding by Fly Thru The Fire scored a ½ length maiden victory on March 29. Both of his victories have come while racing from post number one.
“I was a little nervous with him racing from post number one, but he’s run well for us from that spot, and he’s also posted some very nice gate works,” Zamudio said. “We’ve liked him a lot since we bought him at the Los Alamitos Equine Sale. He’s been very noble, very fast, and has shown us that he has a lot of talent.”
Purchased for $26,000 at the Equine Sale, Beyond Repair is out of Mr Jess Perry mare Sweetest Illusion, who earned over $29,000 in her racing career. Beyond Repair’s trial victory came in the most productive heat of the night, as three others also qualified out of the opening trial.
EG High Desert Farms’ Sentella Olimpia, who was second in her debut, finished second in this trial while posting the seventh fastest time of :15.804. The homebred filly by A Mere Felix is out of another Mr Jerry Perry mare, Gimme Back Mybullets, a three-time winner and $14,000 earner. Sentella Olimpia’s granddam is the graded stakes placed mare Nola Darling. Ricardo Ramirez piloted Sentella Olimpia for trainer Jesus Nunez.
Dale Boydston’s Relentless Trick DB, an Oklahoma-bred gelding by Hes Relentless, finished third in the opening trial while qualifying with the eighth fastest time of :15,872, Out of the unraced mare A Classy Trick, whose dam is the 1999 Rainbow Derby winner My Dashing Lady, Relentless Trick DB was fourth in his racing debut but he was the favorite in that race based on a solid previous gate work. Eduardo Nicasio piloted Relentless Trick DB for Jaime Gomez, who has a stakes record eight Kindergarten winners.
The fourth qualifier from this trial is Jesus Avila’s Touch Base, a colt by Uncle D out of the Thoroughbred mare Touch Of Bling, a $261,703 earner who won races at Saratoga, Aqueduct and Gulfstream Park West. Touch Base finished fourth in this race, but his time of :15.877 made him the 10th fastest qualifier. Jonathan Roman piloted the Douglas Scharbauer-bred runner for trainer Adan Farias.
Beuteeful came into the trials as the most impressive maiden winner of the meet following a 1 ½ length debut victory on March 29. The KVN Corona filly is out of the 2015 Governor’s Cup Futurity runner-up Budder Think Twice, who was also a finalist in that year’s Ed Burke Million Futurity. Beuteeful, who is a full sister to Grade 1 futurity finalists My Budd and Think Again Kev, won the third trial in the second fastest qualifying time of :15.771 while ridden by Jose Nicasio for trainer Kristin Watanabe.
“She’s a great filly, good to be around with a lot of personality,” Watanabe said.
In the winner’s circle, Beuteeful made sure to show her funny disposition, as she stuck her tongue out to the camera.
“She’s fun to be around, always playing games and always full of energy,” Watanabe added.
Watanabe had one other Kindergarten qualifier for Nellesen in Triden IOT, a ¾ length trial winner and the fourth fastest qualifier with a time of :15.783. Ridden by Henry Reynoso Lopez, the KVN Corona gelding is out of the unraced mare My Famous Lady, who is a daughter of the 1999 Grade 1 Rainbow Derby winner My Dashing Lady. Trident IOT worked in the mornings next to the highly regarded Beuteeful, with him going in :12.4 to her bullet drill of :12.2. The two McColee Land & Livestock-bred runners will face off again, this time with big money on the line on Kindergarten night.
Just like Beyond Repair and Beuteeful, the filly Wake Up Lil Suze is a perfect two for two at Los Alamitos to begin her career. Owned by Bobby and Catherine Simmons, Wake Up Lil Suze won her trial by a nose over Savador Flores, Jr.’s Elmer Romero, while posting the third fastest time of :15.777 under jockey Henry Reynoso Lopez. Sired by Favorite Cartel and out of the graded stakes winner and $400,000 earner Suze Returns, Wake Up Lil Suze arrived at the barn of trainer Paul Jones at Los Alamitos after training at Remington Park. She won her local debut by a length at 17-1 odds.
“She came in really good shape,” Jones said. “Clinton Crawford had her at Remington Park and he did a really good job getting her broke and getting her started. When she came here, she was ready to run, and she proved it. She ran a really nice race first time out and came back and repeated that effort tonight. She didn’t break quite as sharp as she did last time. She waited behind the gate for a while, but she did her job (tonight).”
Trainer Felix Gonzalez celebrated his birthday on Saturday night by qualifying Elmer Romero for the Kindergarten final. Salvador Flores and his family sang the “happy birthday” song to Pelillo after the race, while also celebrating Elmer Romero having the fifth fastest time of :15.787. The homebred gelding is by Jess Being Valiant out of Cava Yee Tah, a five-time winner with over $31,000 in earnings. While one might think that Elmer Romero is named after a person, his name is a clever way of spelling the Spanish term “El Mero Mero”, which a playful way to refer to someone as the “the big boss” or “head honcho”. It can also be used towards an authority figure or to someone who excels at something.
“I was going to name him Jess Cava Yee Tah, but the name ‘El Mero Mero’ stuck because that’s who he is,” the owner said with a smile. “Since he was a baby when he was in the pastures, he would show that he was very quick just like his mother. We have high hopes for him.”
Two other trial winners also qualified to the Kindergarten final in the Jose Flores-trained Fireworks Over Paris and Larry and Bobbie Rice’s Candy Eyed Suze. Owned by the partnership of Flores, Layne Sprouse, and Mark and Marta Winslow, Fireworks Over Paris finished superbly to win his trial by ¾ lengths in the sixth fastest time of :15.797. Ridden by Cruz Mendez, the Oklahoma-bred gelding was sired by the unraced stallion Ryder Rite, who is a son of Favorite Cartel. His dam is Veuve Clicquot, the dam of G1 Ed Burke finalists Robs Reason. Cavenaugh Quarter Horses-bred Fireworks Over Paris.
Ridden by Justine Klaiber for trainer Eddie Willis, Candy Eyed Suze won the final trial by a half-length to make the final field as the ninth fastest qualifier in a time of :15.74. The Jess Good Candy filly is out of the $109,000 earner and graded stakes placed mare Brown Eye Suze, who competed in five graded stakes in her career.
The complete list of Robert Adair Kindergarten qualifiers is as follows: Beyond Repair 15.681, Beuteeful 15.771, Wake Up Lil Suze 15.777, Trident IOT 15.783, Elmer Romero 15.787, Fireworks Over Paris :15.797, Sentella Olimpia 15.804, Relentless Trick 15.872, Candy Eyed Suze 15.874, and Touch Base 15.877.
