Sunday 7/13/2025 Stakes Recap: Key Results & Highlights

For the first time since 1984, 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.  

Today, Los Alamitos hosted the G1 Champion of Champions! Here’s a quick look at the winners. Be sure to check back for our complete and detailed Stakes Results!

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 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 10^thfastest 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.