July 5, 2025 – LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, CYPRESS, CA
Travis and Wendy Sexton’s El Dictator improved to perfect two for two to start his racing career while posting the fastest qualifying time to the Governor’s Cup Futurity on Saturday at Los Alamitos.
Thirty-four juveniles competed in the 350-yard trials with the horses with the 10 fastest times moving on to the Saturday, July 26 final to be held on California Breeders Champions Night. El Dictator held absolute power in the opening trial, as he opened with a daylight advantage after the start before cruising home to a ¾ length victory.
Ridden by Armando Cervantes for trainer Ramiro Castillo, El Dictator covered the distance in :17.654, faster than a pair of Mike Casselman-trainees who also posted trial victories, Mayor Humdinger and Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity runner-up French Valley. El Dictator entered the trials after winning his racing debut by ¾ lengths on June 21.
“We’ve been in racing pretty much our whole life,” said Travis Sexton of Idaho Falls. “We keep buying horses at sales and keep running them and trying to get a better one. Midnight Mood last year qualified to a couple of big races so that was special.”
“This has been a dream of ours for a long time, to have horses race (at Los Alamitos),” Wendy Sexton added.
Jaime Gomez bred El Dictator, a gelding by Favorite Cartel out of This Boogie Fires, making him a half-brother to the champion and millionaire J Fire Up, the winner of the 2017 Governor’s Cup Futurity. The Sextons purchased El Dictator for $77,000 at the Heritage Place September Sale.
Casselman bred, owns and trains Mayor Humdinger, a half-brother to his homebred You See That, who won the 2023 Governor’s Cup Futurity for Casselman. A gelding by Mpshinning out of Mindys Favorite, Mayor Humdinger won his trial by a nose over Hidden Speed to give him the second fastest time of :17.721. Cesar Franco piloted the winner of two of three starts.
“(Mindys Favorite) has been a good mare for us,” Casselman said. “Everything that she’s had has tried to run a bit. He’s a real neat horse, a lot fun to train.”
Casselman also saddled Steve Burns’ French Valley, who led the Ed Burke for most of the way before settling for second behind EG High Desert Farms’ Jess Im Worth It. Also ridden by Cesar Franco, French Valley has won two of her four career starts.
“She just seems like she’s getting better and seems to be really enjoying her job,” the trainer said. “I’m happy with her.”
Sired by Favorite Cartel and out of Attack The Cartel, French Valley is a full sister to AQHA champion and 2023 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity winner Trane Station V. French Valley covered the distance in :17.740 to give her the fourth fastest qualifying time.
Burns in partnership with Jose Flores, Gerardo Herrera, and Javier Alvarez also owns Brother Ray, who outdueled Ed Allred’s Next Norco to win the final trial of the night in the eighth fastest qualifying time of :17.826. Brother Ray has now won back-to-back futurity trial races, as he also posted a ½ length victory in a trial to the Ed Burke Million. Burns and Casselman also teamed up with seventh fastest qualifier Bear Down, who was third to El Dictator in the fastest trial of the night.
Allred had a trio of second place finishers in these trials in Hidden Speed, Hurry Up, and Next Norco, but all three of them advanced to the futurity final. Eduardo Nicasio piloted Hidden Speed for trainer James Glenn, Jr. to the third fastest qualifying time, while Scott Willoughby conditions Hurry Up and Next Norco.
The complete list of qualifiers is as follows: El Dictator (:17.654), Mayor Humdinger (:17.721), Hidden Speed (:17.729), French Valley (:17.74), Fancy Upp (:17.741), Hurry Up (:17.804), Bear Down (:17.805), Brother Ray (:17.826), Slatedtoshine (:17.862) and Next Norco (:17.863).
