For the first time since 1989, a winner of the Grade 1 All American Derby has won the Grade 1 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos in the same year.
Dashs Dream had been the last to accomplish the rare double 41 years ago in route to being named the AQHA World Champion in 1984. Fast forward to December 13, 2025 and another Dream of a runner, La Feliz Montana Ranch LLC’s 3-year-old gelding FDD Dreams has now accomplished the All American Derby/Champion of Champions double after holding off Bobby Cox’s late flying Jeriko by a nose to win the Grade 1, $700,000 classic at 440 yards.
Ridden by Luis Martinez to victory for trainer Xavier Rodriguez, FDD Dreams closes out his remarkable sophomore campaign with five wins from eight starts, which also featured a victory in the Grade 1 Ruidoso Derby and a sixth place finish in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Super Derby. The New Mexico homebred sired by FDD Dynasty and out of the Apollitical Jess mare Treasured Dreams earned $350,000 for winning the Champion of Champions to take his earnings for the year to $1,281,034, which currently makes him the nation’s second leading money winner in 2025 and surely the nation’s top 3-year-old and up earner of the season.
FDD Dreams also became the first 3-year-old to win the Champion of Champions since Zooming For Spuds in 2016. He also went over $2 million in career earnings, as his 10 wins from 17 starts have now netted him a total of $2,151,835. Dashs Dream finished 1984 with the AQHA World Champion title and FDD Dreams certainly has the victories, performances and statistics to make a strong claim to the top award in Quarter Horse racing. Racing from post number six in the Champion of Champions, FDD Dreams covered the distance in :21.403.
Jeriko once again in the Champion of Champions had a lot of catching up to do. The powerful son of One Famous Eagle was last during the early part of the race. He then moved up to fifth as he neared the halfway point as he closed in on Ed Allred’s Norco, who was off to a brilliant start from the outside post 10. By this point, FDD Dreams was on the lead as the horses closed in on the finish line with Jeriko moving closer, now up to fourth place while rolling with a full head of steam.
In the final yards, five horses were separated by about a half-length, and at the wire it was FDD Dreams who was first across the finish line at 5-1, followed by Jeriko in second place at 9-5 odds, Reliance Ranches’ Unrelentless running third as the longest shot on the board at 48-1, and Norco holding on to fourth at 10-1.
The great Empressum, the two-time Champion of Champions winner, was fifth across the wire in his bid to tie Refrigerator’s record of three wins in this race. Stanley Cartel, who had moved up to second in the middle portion of the race, finished sixth and was followed by Hott Temptation, Hooked N Gone, Scoops Dynasty and Rc Corona King.
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In the winner’s circle, owner Javier Rodriguez of La Feliz Montaña Ranchwas surrounded by a large group of family and friends, many of them who had made the trip to Southern California from Hondo, New Mexico to cheer for FDD Dreams.
“It’s too hard to describe this moment,” Rodriguez said. “We knew he could do it. It was a very tough field. He got a pretty good break, he did get (bump) at the gates, but he’s a runner and doesn’t give up. This is why we came here to Los Alamitos and he got it.”
FDD Dreams was not favored in the Champion of Champions, perhaps due to his surprising sixth place finish in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Derby, which was won by Norco at 57-1 odds. Rodriguez knew that FDD Dreams was ready to put that disappointing race behind, a race in which he didn’t leave as cleanly as his connections would have liked.
“(FDD Dreams) wants to win the big races,” the owner added. “He probably had a good chance in the Super Derby. If he had broken better, I think he’s unbeatable. It happens to racehorses. The gate is very important. It’s also luck. This time we had it and it’s an unbelievable moment. It’s hard for 3-year-olds to compete with these older horses, but he’s a tremendous horse. He comes from my mare at the ranch.”
FDD Dreams is now the richest racehorse campaigned by La Feliz Montana, moving ahead of their 2007 AQHA World Champion Heartswideopen, that year’s All American Futurity winner bred by Kirk Goodfellow and campaigned by the Rodriguez Family. Heartwideopen would finish her career with $1,885,283 in lifetime earnings.
Xavier Rodriguez was not yet 10-years-old when Heartswideopen was getting Quarter Horse racing’s biggest headlines. Now, the young man is making big headlines of his own, not only with FDD Dreams, but also with stablemate Political Twist, the Grade 1 Ruidoso Futurity winner, who is the morning line favorite in Sunday’s Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity.
“It’s been a heck of a year,” he said. “It’s been a great year. It’s surreal. From El Paso (in Texas) all the way to here. It’s just been a great year overall. I thought he was just going to be there with him. He’s shown he’s a tough horse, but I didn’t think he was going to get it. The ending was the key. That horse has heart and he sure showed it.”
Winning rider Luis Martinez thought FDD Dreams’ sharper start made all the difference in the Champion of Champions.
“We had a really good start,” Martinez said. “From early on, he got the lead and then at the end I felt pressure from the number nine horse but fortunately we got the victory. I didn’t know what to think at the end. I thought I had won it but I didn’t know the result yet. We had a tough start in the Super Derby and that cost us in the Super Derby. Tonight, we had a good start and that helped us. FDD Dreams warmed up really well and fortunately he ran great. I feel blessed for the opportunity that the boss has given me and thankful for the horse, who has run so well.”
Martinez is currently the nation’s leading rider in earnings with $3,810,993. He’ll look to add to that total, as he’ll pilot Political Twist in the Two Million.
Piloted by Jesus Rios Ayala in this race, Jeriko had his best finish in the Champion of Champions from his three starts. Fourth as a 3-year-old in 2023, Jeriko came back with another fourth-place finish in 2024. This time, his second-place finish earns him $112,000 to take his career earnings to $1,148,672. Bobby Cox bred the great Jeriko, who is now only the seventh horse with three top four finishes in the Champion of Champions history. Refrigerator, Empressum, Jess You And I, Zoomin For Spuds, Heza Dasha Fire, and Apollitical Pence are the others.
Eduardo Nicasio piloted the Eddie Willis-trained Unrelentless to earnings of $70,000. Bred by Flag Ranch, the horse by Hes Relentless was the first to earn a Champion of Champions this year after winning the Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship. He’s now less than $5,000 away from going over the $500,000 mark in career earnings. Ridden by Gabriel Lara for trainer Scott Willoughby, Norco earned $49,000 running fourth, while Empressum earned $35,000 for running fifth. With $2,537,748, Empressum is third all-time in career earnings.
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Stanley Cartel fell past the wire and immediately attended to by on-site veterinarian. He was transported back to the barn area in an equine ambulance, and track management confirmed on Saturday evening that due to the severity of the injury, Stanley Cartel was humanely euthanized.
