The meet’s first of three futurities with a purse of at least $1 million will headline a star-studded nine-race program on Sunday at Los Alamitos.
Ten top juveniles will be in action in the Grade 1, $1,040,000 Ed Burke Million Futurity led by M & G Farms and Steve Burns’ Shiny New and Gamaliel Garza Garcia’s Accelerated, who was the record $850,000 sale topper at the Los Alamitos Equine Sale last year. Shiny New and Accelerated will enter as the only two undefeated horses in the 350-yard futurity, but the field is loaded with impressive runners as every juvenile has won at least once this season. The 10 finalists have combined to win 15 of their 27 starts.
The Ed Burke kicks off the million-dollar futurities at the Orange County oval soon to be followed by the Golden State Million Futurity in late October and the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity in December. The first post for this Sunday’s Father’s Day program is 6:40 p.m. with the Ed Burke slated as the ninth and final race on the card at 9:56 p.m.
The 8-5 morning line favorite is Shiny New, who sizzled away from the gate in route to posting the fastest qualifying time of :17.468 in the 350-yard race. No horse was faster than Shiny New in the first 130 yards on the night of the trials and his final 220-time of :09.50 was the second fastest among the winners only behind
Accelerated’s epic come-from-behind trial victory. Ruben Lozano will pilot Shiny New, a filly by Mpshinning out of 2015 AQHA champion aged mare Quirky. Steve Burns-bred Shiny New, who will look to give M & G, Zamudio and Lozano their second Ed Burke win after they teamed up with Golden Boi in 2021 Ed Burke. Shiny New’s winning time was more than 2/10th of a second faster than the next top qualifier, Licon Farm and Ranch LLC’s Vyper’s :17.67 clocking.
“This filly has a ton of talent, and we are expecting some big things out of her,” Zamudio said on trials night. “She has a champion mother and is out of a young stallion and their cross turned out great. In the barn, Shiny New is always happy, very attentive, and very easy to work with in the morning.” Purchased for $20,000 at the Heritage Place Sale, Shiny New will start from post number three.
To be ridden by Cruz Mendez from post number five for trainer Jose Flores, Vyper is 8-1 on the morning line following a hard-fought 1/2 length victory over Newcomb Racing’s Heavily Favored. Vyper, a son of Favorite Cartel bred by Bobby Cox, was a $42,000 Ruidoso Sale acquisition. Flores and Mendez won the 2014 Ed Burke with the great Heza Dasha Fire. Vyper will start from post number five.
Link Newcomb, his brother Lake Newcomb and Lake’s wife, Becky, will have two finalists in the Ed Burke Million after Heavily Favored was second to Vyper in this trial. Purchased for $125,000 in Ruidoso, the James Markum and Steve Burns-bred Heavily Favored is a colt by Favorite Cartel out of Remember The Rose, who is a daughter of the legendary Remember Me Rose. He’s 12-1 on the morning line and could be one of the best value bets in the field.
Newcomb Racing also has the $125,000 purchase Cattail Coast in this race. The gelding by Apollitical Jess out of Expedited, who is a full sister of the multiple stakes winner Cattail Cove, who Link Newcomb has campaigned to an award-winning campaign since 2019.
Three other finalists faced off on trials night and will meet again as top players in this race. Juan Aleman, who also trains the Newcomb duo, will send out Accelerated after his tremendous rallying victory in the trials. A full brother of Powerful Favorite, Bomb Cyclone, Runforyourlife, Cyber Attack and many other standouts, the royally bred Accelerated trailed Steve Burns’ French Valley and Ed Allred’s Cheat Sheet by a length in their trial as the field crossed the gap, but then he unleashed a furious rally to win by a head. Now the second choice at 5-2 odds, Accelerated will look for a quick start and another big-time finish when he starts from post number two with Martin Arriaga up.
French Valley, a full sister to Champion Trane Station V, and the Favorite Cartel filly Cheat Sheet are two other top princesses in this race. They were both terrific in their debut wins and are highly capable of taking control early on and never look back from there. Irving Lara will ride Cheat Sheet for trainer James Glenn, Jr., while Cesar Franco will ride French Valley.
Trainer Paul Jones has two starters in this race in Bobby and Catherine Simmons’ Wake Up Lil Suze and Thompson Racing, Inc., Alexis Andrade and Jones’ Doodah Cartel. Wake Up Lil Suze has a field high three wins already and already has previous stakes experience after running the Grade 2 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity. Meanwhile, Doodah Cartel will be one of the sentimental choices in this race.
“This horse is named after my father-in-law, Bernie Erickson, who passed away a year ago,” Terry Thompson said. “Doodah was his favorite saying whenever he went out so it’s a sentimental deal for my wife Deb and I.”
EG High Desert Farms’ Jess Im Worth It will complete the field. He’ll start from post one at 10-1 odds. He’s a full brother to 2024 Governors’ Cup Futurity winner Favorite Jesshawk. Ricardo Ramirez will ride.
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