West Texas Racing Partners, LLC’s Enforce became the fifth of the famous brothers sired by Favorite Cartel and out of the broodmare Remember Me Rose to qualify to the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity after posting the fastest qualifying time in Sunday’s trials to the rich $1,929,825 final to be held here on Sunday, December 14.
Enforce outdueled LA Racing Stables LLC’s Surprise Temptation by a half-length while covering the 400-yard distance in :19.666 to make him the fastest from among the 116 juveniles to race in the trials. The outstanding effort helped Enforce join his brothers Bomb Cyclone, Cyber Attack, Powerful Favorite and Runforyourlife as Los Al Two Million finalists. Bomb Cyclone and Cyber Attack both won California’s richest Quarter Horse race and Enforce certainly has the goods to become the third from this historic group of brothers to win the Two Million.
Chris O’Dell has trained all five of the amazing brothers to a spot in the Two Million. Racing from post number one, the Steve Burns-bred colt Enforce was ridden by Jesus Rios Ayala to his third win from six career. Enforce had previously won the Grade 1 Golden State Million Futurity by a ½ length over Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity winner Jess Im Worth It. The latter also qualified to the Two Million final, as did Grade 1 Ruidoso Futurity winner Political Twist and Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity winner Beuteeful.
“What a horse,” O’Dell said of Enforce. “He’s starting to amaze me. I’m walking on clouds. I can’t believe that he went that fast. Bomb is the fastest horse that I’ve ever trained, no doubt. He’s living out his years at my ranch in New Mexico, and he loves it out there. Cyber Attack was so quick, but they were all so good. They were so different but all so good. I can’t compare him to any of them.
“The only thing I do know is that (Enforce) is starting to learn how to break a little bit. That keeps you out of trouble. That’s what he did in the Golden State. For as big a horse as he is, he breaks pretty good. That’s something that you can’t just teach. Everybody thinks you can teach them. You can’t teach them. You can help them, but you can’t teach them. That’s just pure class and that class rises to the top. When you get good ones like this you get to think that good horses can run on any track. I was worried all night. To me it’s an impressive performance.”
Here are the 10 qualifiers to the 26th running of the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity, which is annually the richest race of the meet at the Southern California oval: Enforce (:19.666), Hi Octane (:19.699), Toby Sis (:19.710), Political Twist (:19.725), Surprise Temptation (:19.726), Beuteeful (:19.768), AJ Remember Me (:19.787), Jess Im Worth It (:19.793), Whos The V (:19.815), and Brother Ray (:19.818).
Favorite Cartel sired Enforce, Toby Sis, Whos The V and Brother Ray. Apollitical Jess is the sire of Hi Octane, Political Twist and AJ Remember Me. KVN Corona is the sire of Beuteeful, while Tempting Dash sired Surprise Temptation and A Mere Felix sired Jess Im Worth It.
Keith Nellesen will have two juveniles in the Two Million final as the owner Hi Octane and owner/breeder of Beuteeful. He is also the breeder of Surprise Temptation, who was purchased for $100,000 at the Heritage Place Sale. Bred by Lance and Tammy Finlinson, Hi Octane is out of stakes winner and $260,000 earner Valiantinecandyrocks, who is also owned by Nellesen.
“We bought (Valiantinecandyrocks) and her mother after she ran. She ran in Indiana. She stayed out there, kind of a local horse, but she’s been a really good producer. There was another that ran here tonight (It’s a Good Valentine) that dead-heated for the win in the Ruidoso Invitational. She’s young mare and we think she’ll be a good producer.”
Racing exclusively at Los Alamitos, Hi Octane was picking up his third win in seven starts. His last three outings have come with him starting from the outside post, which had led to lugging out in those race, including when finishing third in the John Deere Los Alamitos Juvenile Challenge. In this trial, Hi Octane broke from post number five in a race that featured nine total starters.
“We were really excited about his chances,” Nellesen said. “He had drawn the outside in his last two races and he broke out really far. Then he came back and he did it again. When we saw that he drew with someone outside of him (in this trial) we were really happy. We know that he’s fast horse. We were excited with what we saw. He finally got a chance to run. He broke straight, ran straight and looked really good.”
The dashing gray filly named Beuteeful continues to live up to her name after scoring her fifth win in six career starts. Her only blemish came in the Golden State Million final when she broke through the gate before the start. She was then reloaded and to her credit she was fast out of the gate in third place before fading to seventh place.
“She (hit) her face when she broke through the gate,” Nellesen said. “She was dazed. She just couldn’t finish.”
Draw a line across that troubled start and Beuteeful’s first four outings saw her winning by margins of 1 ½ lengths, ¾ lengths, 1 ½ lengths when winning the Kindergarten and then by a jaw dropping three lengths in her Golden State Million trial win. For the Two Million trials, Beuteeful was back to her dominant ways, leading from gate to wire in route to a comfy ½ length win.
“She just knows where the front is and how to get there,” the owner added. “We’re lucky to get two (horss) in the final. It was relief. I was nervous. I wish she had been in the first trial and not in the 11th trial. The whole goal is to get in the final, no matter how we get there. I’ve bred three of the top six qualifiers in here, so it’s been a great night for us.”
Rodrigo Sigala Vallejo piloted Hi Octane and Beuteeful to victory for trainer Kristen Watanabe.
Valeriano Racing Stables LLC, winners of the 2023 Two Million with AQHA champion colt Trane Station V, will have two standouts in this year’s Two Million final thanks to trial winners Toby Sis and Whos The V. Toby Sis is a new arrival to the Valeriano Stable after the full sister to Grade 1 winner London Toby was purchased privately before racing in the trials.
“She’s a recent purchase and it’s her first race with us,” trainer Jesus Nunez said. “I think she has a great chance to win the big one. She’s doing great. She’s a very easy-going filly. She’s been that way since we got her. She has a lot of class.”
Toby Sis won her trial by 1 ½ lengths to give her four wins in five starts. She came into the night after running second in the Grade 2 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity, which is the only time in her career that she has not been in the winner’s circle following her race.
Nunez also saddled Whos The V to a 1 ¼ length win in his trial. Bred by Mike Abraham and Grant Farms LLC, the Favorite Cartel gelding enjoyed a similar margin of victory in his Golden State Million trial before running a solid fifth in the Grade 1 final. Whos The V was eighth at the break, but he steadily gained ground to finish in the top half of the field. Francisco Calderon rode both Toby Sis and Whos The V to victory.
Nunez made a trio of qualifiers after saddling Ed Burke Million winner Jess Im Worth It to a strong second to Corinna Sosa’s AJ Remember Me in their trial. Kelly Castaneda saddled the Rancho El Cabresto-bred AJ Remember Me, who was ridden to victory by Juan Pulido. AJ Remember Me had previously run third in the Ah Sigh Stakes and earlier this year he was third to Political Twist in the Ruidoso Futurity.
As for Jess Im Worth It, the EG High Desert Farms owned and bred colt is the only juvenile to make all three of the million-dollar futurity finals at Los Alamitos. First in the Ed Burke and second in the Golden State, he’ll be looking for another big finish in the meet’s richest race.
“Jess Im Worth It, he’s a very serene horse,” Nunez added. “When you see him in the paddock, you can see how relaxed he behaves. He doesn’t goof around. He’s such a strong finisher. If he doesn’t break, you know that he’ll be closing powerfully. He’s always been good. He comes back great after his races. We’re just so happy where we are at with him right now.”
One of the biggest stars of the night races in the 12th and final trial of the evening, La Feliz Montana Ranch LLC and Ray Willis’ Political Twist made his Los Alamitos debut in this trial. The Mj Farms-bred gelding came in with much fanfare, as his outstanding record of five wins from his first six starts included his Ruidoso Futurity win plus a win in the Grade 2 West Texas Futurity and a second-place finish in the All American Futurity. By the end of the night, Political Twist had improved to six wins from seven starts while being firmly placed as one of favorites for the Two Million after posting a two length trial win in gate to wire fashion.
“The wait was worth it,” said Javier Rodriguez of La Feliz Montana. “I was a nervous wreck. It was his first time racing at night, the lights, so that was a concern. He’s a pro. He’s a runner. We have the best team. Our whole team is amazing and a big part of this happening. Those are the guys that make all this happen.”
December 13-14 will be a weekend to remember for La Feliz Montana. In addition to Political Twist in the Two Million, the Hondo, New Mexico ranch will also have strong representation in the Grade 1 Champion of Champions on December 13 thanks to All American Derby winner FDD Dreams.
“It’s going to be a dream come true,” Rodriguez added. “I never thought I would have a horse in the Champion of Champions and now in the Two Million as well. It’s a blessing. Unfortunately, (All American Derby winner) FDD Dreams didn’t break as well in the (Los Alamitos) Super Derby, but those things happen. It’s horse racing and things like that happen, but he’s still a champ in my heart.”
Luis Martinez piloted Political Twist to victory for trainer Xavier Rodriguez. Martinez and Rodriguez are also the jockey/trainer combination for FDD Dreams.
The previously mentioned Surprise Temptation was ridden to his second place finish behind Enforce by Juan Pulido for trainer Kelly Castaneda. Bred in Utah by McColee Land & Livestock, Surprise Temptation has finished second in all three of his Los Alamitos starts after posting back-to-back wins while racing at Remington Park and then Ruidoso Downs.
Steve Burns, Jose Flores, Gerardo Herrera and Javier Alvarez Rodriguez owns Brother Ray, who made his connections very happy to winning his trial by a ½ length, but most importantly by posting the 10th fastest time of :19.818. One of two qualifiers bred by Steve Burns, Enforce being the other, Brother Ray made the field to the Governor’s Cup Futurity earlier this year, but had a very troubled trip in the final when running eighth. He returned with a second-place finish in his Golden State Million trial before running this beauty of a race to make the field for California’s richest Quarter Horse race.
The 12-race program featured a total all-sources handle of $2,049,336, the second highest wagering night of the meet only behind this year’s Ed Burke Million trials total handle of $2,287,181. This is the 43rd time that Los Alamitos has enjoyed a single night handle of over $2 million.
