Abel Flores and James Sills’ homebred filly Shaken Goin On completed a nearly flawless 2025 campaign at Los Alamitos with an impressive ½ length victory over the outstanding Favorite Jesshawk in the running of the Grade 2, $158,600 Southern California Derby on the meet’s closing night.
Shaken Goin On was also scoring her fourth stakes win this season at the Orange County oval, the most by any horse this meet. The Oklahoma-bred daughter of Freighttrain B wrapped her outstanding meet with six wins from seven starts and stakes wins in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Oaks, the Grade 2 Miss Princess Handicap against older females, the Justanold Love Stakes and now this 400-yard derby against some of the top sophomores in the nation. EG High Desert Farms’ Favorite Jesshawk, winner of the Grade 2 Golden State Derby and Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity, finished second with multiple stakes winner Train B Taka crossing the wire third.
Ridden by Justine Klaiber, who piloted Shaken Goin On to each of her wins this year, the brown filly covered the distance in :19.867. Trained by Eddie Willis, Shaken Goin On earned $66,612 for the win to take her career earnings to $412,220. This was also her 10th win in 17 career starts.
“James and I have had horses together for over 25 years,” Flores said. “We’ve brought some good ones here like (Grade 1 Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Championship winner) A Toss Up and (Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten winner) Cedar Hill, but she has to be one of the best fillies we’ve own.”
“She’s been good all year,” Willis said. “I brought her here last fall just to run her in the Oaks. She ran really good there. She should be a good contender for champion 3-year-old filly. She beat older (mares) once and she won six races this year. She’s real good.
“She kind of broke out the first jump but then she came on running. She’s really fast away from the gate. She doesn’t get into much trouble because she leaves so good. I’ll give her a little time off and I’ll bring her back here in the spring.”
Willis knows all about top fillies at Los Alamitos. Shaken Goin On’s only blemish of 2025 was a third-place finish to the Willis-trained Hott Temptation in the Grade 1 Mildred Vessels Memorial Handicap for 3-year-old and up fillies and mares. With plenty of top races for distaffers here next year, Shaken Goin On will have plenty of opportunities to race against the best of the best in the division next season.
Ridden by Jesus Rios Ayala for trainer Jesus Nunez, Favorite Jesshawk earned $26,962 for his second place finish. Bred by EG High Desert Farms, the colt by A Mere Felix went over the $400,000 career mark in earnings with this effort. He’s now made $414,529 in 18 career starts.
Trained by Marc Jungers and racing for Armando Arreola, Cheryl Stokes and Tungsten Racing Partnership, Train B Taka erned $19,032 for running third. He has been a model of consistency at the stakes level during this meet, winning four of 10 starts while finishing third or better in all six of his starts at the stakes level. The winner of the Holiday Handicap, Dillingham Handicap and Vandy’s Flash, Train B Taka was second in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby and was also third in the Grade 2 El Primero Del Ano Derby. Edwin Escobedo piloted Train B Taka.
The Gentry Farms owned duo of Ohana Spirit and Beach Walk finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Show N Tell Cartel ran sixth and was followed by Back At It, Fire Tools 123, Listen Now and Ccr Political Wrap.
