La Feliz Montana Ranch and Ray Willis’ Political Twist will look to become the first juvenile to win California’s richest Quarter Horse, the Grade 1, $1,929,825 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity, after having already won a Grade 1 futurity at Ruidoso Downs when he takes on a stellar field that will also include two other major Grade 1 winners here on Sunday night.
Political Twist, the 2-1 morning line favorite in the Two Million final, won the Grade 1 $1,000,000 Ruidoso Futurity at the New Mexico track and then ran a super second in the Grade 1 $3,000,000 All American Futurity on Labor Day Monday at The Downs at Albuquerque. In his Los Alamitos debut, Political Twist had an excellent performance, winning his Two Million trial by two lengths from post number seven while posting the fourth fastest qualifying time.
Two of his main challengers will be West Texas Racing Partner’s Enforce, the winner of the Grade 1 Golden State Million Futurity and the fastest qualifier to the Two Million final, and EG High Desert Farms’ Jess Im Worth It, the winner of the Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity and the only horse to qualify to the three richest futurities in California, the Ed Burke, the Golden State Million and the Two Million. Jess Im Worth It will start from the outside post number 10, while Political Twist will start from that familiar post seven and Enforce will leave the gate from post number nine.
Political Twist, the The Mj Farms-bred gelding, arrived here with much fanfare, as his outstanding record of five wins from his first six starts also included a win in the Grade 2 West Texas Futurity. By the end of the night, Political Twist had improved to six wins from seven starts thanks to his runaway win. When his connections had the opportunity to select their post position for the final, trainer Xavier Rodriguez opted for the same post number seven that netted the son of Apollitical Jess an excellent trial win.
“He ran pretty good through there so hopefully he can return that same race he ran in the trials,” Rodriguez said. “You can’t change something that’s not broken. The horse is a tremendous athlete.”
Rodriguez is at the top of the sport thanks to horses like Political Twist and All American Derby winner FDD Dreams, who was part of the Champion of Champions field contested over the weekend.
“My dad was a horse trainer and I’m just following his footsteps,” he added. “So far, it’s worked out. This is a dream come true. Being out here, being at Los Alamitos, competing in these types of races with top trainers from around the country is a dream come true. It’s a good feeling and a good moment for me.”
West Texas Racing Partners, LLC’s super colt Enforce is 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. Enforce joins Bomb Cyclone, Cyber Attack, Powerful Favorite and Runforyourlife as Los Al Two Million finalists, all of which have been trained by Chris O’Dell. Enforce will hope to join Bomb Cyclone and Cyber Attack as winners of the Two Million final. The O’Dell trainee, who was bred by Steve Burns and will be ridden by Jesus Rios Ayala, posted the top time of :19.666 when outdueling LA Racing Stables LLC’s Surprise Temptation in the trials.
“What a horse,” O’Dell said of Enforce. “Bomb is the fastest horse that I’ve ever trained, no doubt…and 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.”
Jess Im Worth, a homebred colt by A Mere Felix, is a powerful finisher but not always the quickest out of the gate. Getting the opportunity to start from the outside post 10 should provide him with a clear path to the finish line, which should play perfectly to his strong finishing kick. Ricardo Ramirez will ride Jess Im Worth for trainer Jesus Nunez.
Owner and breeder Keith Nellesen will have two juveniles in the Two Million final in second fastest qualifier Hi Octane and sixth fastest qualifier Beuteeful, the winner of the Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity. Hi Octane is out of stakes winner and $260,000 earner Valiantinecandyrocks, a broodmare owned by Nellesen.
Hi Octane’s connections had the good luck of getting the first choice of post positions and they quickly opted for post number six. More importantly, they avoided an outside post for Hi Octane, as the gelding had lugged out in all three of his starts racing from the outside post. He raced in between horses in the trials and sure enough he delivered a knockout of a performance.
“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 happy. We know that he’s a fast horse. He finally got a chance to run. He broke straight, ran straight and looked really good.”
The gray filly named Beuteeful has lived up to her name, as she’s posted five wins from six career starts. Her only blemish came in the Golden State Million final when she broke through the gate before the start before finishing seventh. She quickly made amends in her Two Million trial, advancing to the final while having post number one, the same spot from where she won the Kindergarten final.
“She just knows where the front is and how to get there,” Nellesen added.
Rodrigo Sigala Vallejo gets the call on Beuteeful, while Jose Nicasio will ride Hi Octane.
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. The racing operation purchased Toby Sis right before the Two Million trials and she paid off right away with a sensation trial win to make the final.
Veteran trainer Kelly Castaneda will saddle a pair of talented starters in this race in Corinna Sosa’s AJ Remember Me and the previously mentioned runner Surprise Temptation. Nellesen’s McColee Land & Livestock bred Surprise Temptation.
Steve Burns, Jose Flores, Gerardo Herrera and Javier Alvarez Rodriguez’s Brother Ray will complete the field and will start from post number three. A finalist to the Governor’s Cup Futurity, Brother Ray won his trial by a ½ length while earning the 10thfastest time.
Here’s the field from the rail out: Beuteeful, Toby Sis, Brother Ray, Whos The V, AJ Remember Me, Hi Octane, Political Twist, Surprise Temptation, Enforce and Jess Im Worth It.
