Last Cold Bud is a rising star

Valeriano Racing Stables LLC’s Toby Sis was bumped shortly after the start but was fortunate enough to avoid trouble the rest of the way, allowing her immense potential to emerge during the second half of California’s richest Quarter Horse race, the Grade 1, $1,929,825 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity here on Sunday night. 

Displaying an impressive finishing kick from post number two, Toby Sis held off Corinna Sosa’s AJ Remember Me by a head to win the 26^th running of the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity at odds of 11-1. Ridden by Francisco Calderon for trainer Jesus Nunez, Toby Sis completed a terrific juvenile campaign with this victory. 

Bred by Ed Allred, the filly by Favorite Cartel out of the Walk Thru Fire mare London Laura improved to five wins from six starts, with her only blemish being a second-place finish in the Grade 2 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity. Toby Sis earned $799,187 for the win to take her career earnings to $856,157. This makes her the nation’s fourth leading earner and the highest earning Quarter Horse filly or mare of 2025. 

A full sister to multiple Grade 1 winner London Toby, Toby Sis also became Favorite Cartel’s 17th winner of a million-dollar race. The California-bred covered the 400 yards in :19.559. Valeriano Racing Stables were also represented by Whos The V, who was also bumped early, lost his path and had more traffic trouble later in the race while never in contention on the way to running 10^th.

Several other horses had rough trips during this race, including Grade 1 Ruidoso Futurity winner Political Twist, who got knocked around heavily after Surprise Temptation, Enforce and Jess Im Worth It all bumped into each other near the midway point of the race. Jess Im Worth It, who was third across the finish line, was eventually disqualified from third and placed ninth. Keith Nellesen’s Hi Octane, who was also bumped during this melee, finished in a huge way, crossing the wire fourth before being moved up to third. 

The official order of finish is as follows: Toby Sis, AJ Remember Me, Hi Octane, Beuteeful, Enforce, Brother Ray, Political Twist, Surprise Temptation, Jess Im Worth It, and Whos The V.  

“I knew I got left back a little bit,” said Calderon, who rode Toby Sis. “They bumped her left, right but when she started gearing, she started going, she felt comfortable and she did good. She was lugging out about 150 yards before the wire. I really had to gear her and not really ride her, just gear her, which I think it cost her a little bit more, but I needed to go straight. We can probably fix that, a different bit or something. I knew she was going to lug out and being in the two (post) you have more horses to worry about.”

This was also the second consecutive year in which the winner of the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity started from post number two. The 2024 winner Lethal Cowboy 123 famously ended up in post number two after the post position selection event. 

Part of the tradition of the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity is for the connections of each horse in the race to have the opportunity to select their post positions. A random draw is held Wednesday morning before the race with the connections choosing their post position later that day. If you have the number one pick in the selection order, then every post position is available for your horse. If you have the 10^th and final pick in the order, then the choice has been made for you, and your horse will start from the last spot available.     

Toby Sis had the ninth pick this year and with only posts two and three still available, Nunez chose post number two.   

“We had pick seven for Whos The V and number nine for Toby Sis,” said owner Sammie Valeriano. “When ‘Chuey’ (Jesus Nunez) called me from the draw with what was available, I told him to take post number four for Whos The V. (Beuteeful) then took the number one post so for Tobys Sis we had either two or three. I said ‘Chuey, which one do you like?’ He told me that he’s always wanted number two, so I told him, ‘Go on and pick that two.’ It was Chuey who chose that spot.”

“They didn’t leave me the seven post, so I took post number two,” Nunez said with a smile. “I knew about Lethal Cowboy 123 and tonight we had the luck. I had a lot of faith on Toby Sis. I thought she had a really good chance to win. She has a lot of class and just kept getting better and training great.” 

The winning connections purchased her privately from her breeder after her second-place finish in the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity. Nunez knew that his job was to keep her happy at that point.

“She was already a very nice filly and not much that she could learn,” Nunez said. “The way she ran in the trials, I knew we had a good shot to win. She was one of the best in this field. She relaxed a lot and showed a lot of class. This was the (best) chance that I had to win a million-dollar race. She’s paid into the Los Alamitos Oaks next year.”

Valeriano Racing and jockey Francisco Calderon had previously teamed up to win the Los Alamitos Two Million in 2023 with AQHA champion colt Trane Station V, who was also sired by Favorite Cartel. An AQHA champion jockey, Calderon’s experience in big races served him well.

“When it’s 400 or 440, you really have to be patient because the wire is all the way at the end,” Calderon added. “You push too early you might get caught. The money is at the end. She didn’t break but I knew that she’s a filly that needs to get comfortable the first couple of strides. She did that in the trials. It was the first time I had ridden her in a race. She broke good but just wasn’t comfortable running until I gave her ahead and let her run. Then she felt comfortable. She did that today as well.”    

Ridden by Edwin Escobebo, who won the Two Million last year aboard Lethal Cowboy 123, AJ Remember Me steadily gained ground to move up from eight to fifth and eventually second place in the race. While he bumped at the start, the 28-1 longshot was also able to avoid additional traffic trouble later in the race. 

Saddled by Kelly Castaneda, AJ Remember Me earned $323,480 for his runner-up effort. The son of Apollitical Jess was third to Political Twist in the Ruidoso Futurity earlier this year and third in the Ah Sigh Stakes. He was bred by Rancho El Cabresto. 

Nellesen’s Hi Octane, who had the first choice of post position and selected post number six, earned $228,339 for running third. Jose Nicasio piloted the Utah-bred son of Apollitical Jess for trainer Kristen Watanabe. Lance and Tommy Finlinson bred Hi Octane.

Nellesen and Watanabe also teamed up with fourth place finisher Beuteeful, the winner of the Grade 1 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity. Racing from post number one, Beuteeful earned $133,198 for her effort. Rodrigo Sigala Vallejo piloted the KVN Corona filly from the rail.

West Texas Racing Partners’ Enforce had one of the roughest trips of the night. He was bumped around by both Surprise Temptation and Jess Im Worth It and it’s a remarkable feat that he was still able to finish as high as he did for jockey Jesus Rios Ayala and trainer Chris O’Dell. The winner of the Grade 1 Golden State Million final banked $114,170 for his gutsy fifth place finish in this race. 

Two racetracks were buzzing with excitement today for Stakes Races! Take a glance at the winners now, and stay tuned for our full Stakes Results!

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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.