Racing for Dunn Ranch and Weetona Stanley, Stanley Cartel posted his second Grade 1 stakes victory of 2025, and his third graded stakes win from his last four starts after defeating the remarkable millionaires Empressum and Jeriko to win the Grade 1, $100,000 Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Invitational Championship at the classic 440-yard distance here on Saturday night.
Ridden by Armando Cervantes from the outside post 10, Stanley Cartel broke on top, lugged in at the midway point but had enough late firepower to hold off the two-time Champion of Champions winner Empressum by a head. Jeriko, the winner of the Los Alamitos Invitational last year, was flying after leaving the gate last and finished a head Empressum while running third.
Trained by Ramiro Castillo, the 4-year-old Stanley Cartel also won the Grade 1 Vessels Maturity on July 6 and the Grade 2 Southern California Derby to close out his sophomore campaign on December 22. In between his Southern California Derby and Vessels Maturity win, the Stanley-bred horse by PYC Paint Your Wagon also finished second in the Grade 3 Kaweah Bar Handicap, one of only two races in his outstanding 11 race career in which he hasn’t finished in first place. With nine victories from those 11 outings and still lightly raced in 2025, this was only his third start of the year, Stanley Cartel appears to be one of the top contenders for this year’s Grade 1 Champion of Champions, especially after picking up his first win at the quarter of a mile distance, which is also the distance of the Champion of Champions. Sent off as the 6-5 favorite, Stanley Cartel covered the 440 yards in :21.458.
“I was a little worried about the distance,” Cervantes said. “He showed that he can run the distance. He didn’t break as I thought he would break but picked up ground and did a great job. I broke and didn’t really see much but towards the wire I could see the two coming at me. I didn’t know if it was Empressum or Jeriko but I’m so thankful we got the win. I knew I had gotten the win, it was by a little bit, but I knew I got it.”
Castillo, who is in his first year as trainer after many years as an assistant, knew that Stanley Cartel would need to run his best race to outdo the likes of Empressum and Jeriko.
“He was ready,” Castillo said. “We tried to keep him fit this time and making sure that he was 100% because this was a tough race with the best in there. I knew that he was going to have to push hard this time. In the barn, he doesn’t waste his energy. He’s quiet. He’s a kind horse. He got a clean break, but it looked like it took him a little while to get over the ground. I was really nervous because it looked like all of them were together. I wasn’t sure if he got the win but when they showed the closer view, I knew he got it.
“The Stanleys will be very happy about this win. The horse is a stud and being a stallion will be his next move once he’s done with his racing career. He’s still got one special race left, the Champion of Champions, that’s the next big step for him.”
With wins in the Invitational Championship and Vessels Maturity, the Oklahoma-bred Stanley Cartel has won two races offering presumptive berths to the Champion of Champions, which is set for Saturday, December 13.
The other horses with presumptive berths to the Champion of Champions are Reliance Ranches’ Unrelentless, winner of the Grade 1 Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship and sixth place finisher in the Invitational Championship; Regina Laymon’s Hooked N Gone, winner of the Grade 1 Debbie Schauf Remington Park Invitational Championship; La Feliz Montana Ranch’s FDD Dreams, winner of the Grade 1 All American Derby; Reliance Ranches’ Hott Temptation, winner of the Grade 1 Mildred Vessels Memorial Handicap; and Jose Rojas’ RC Corona King, winner of the Grade 1 Albuquerque Fall Championship. Since he has two victories in races with presumptive berths, the winner of the Grade 1 Go Man Go Handicap, Ed McNelis’ Scoops Dynasty, could now be invited to the Champion of Champions as well. Scoops Dynasty has raced in the Champion of Champions in 2024 and 2023.
The remaining races with Champion of Champions berths are the Grade 1 AQHA Challenge Championship, the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Super Derby and the Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trial.
Owned by Steve Holt and Jeff Jones, Empressum will need a big effort in the Directors Trials to qualify to the Champion of Champions for the fourth straight year. Also runner-up to Scoops Dynaty in the Go Man Go, Empressum earned $22,500 for finishing second to take his career earnings to $2,498,248. He is no less than $2,000 away from becoming only the third Quarter Horse with over $2.5 million in career earnings. KJ Desperado and Ochoa are the only two to have reached the milestone figure. Rodrigo Sigala Vallejo piloted Empressum for trainer Elena Andrade. The now 7-year-old gelding by Apollitical Jess has finished first or second in 34 of his 38 career starts.
Bobby Cox’s Jeriko missed out on his bid to become only the sixth horse to win back-to-back runnings of the Invitational Championship. He’ll also need a big effort in the Directors Trials to reach the Champion of Champions for a third consecutive year. Jesus Rios Ayala rode the son of One Famous Eagle for trainer Chris O’Dell.
Abel and Ethal Lopez and Manny Dutchover’s Shakers No Secret, a multiple Grade 1 winner, finished fourth for trainer Marc Jungers and jockey Christian Ramos. Edberg Verde, Unrelentless, Kevins Wise Corona, Boardwalk, RS Shere Khan and Vegas Trick completed the field.
