RECORD NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS TO
COMPETE IN TRIALS TO RICHEST EVER MAIDEN STAKES
CYPRESS, CA - Feb. 4, 2012 - A record 61 horses will
compete in the seven trials to the richest running ever
of the Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes on Saturday at the
Orange County oval. First post time is 5 p.m. with the
trials to the $151,750 Maiden Stakes at 350 yards
scheduled to begin with the evening’s third race.
The 61 horses participating in the trials represent a
record for this event and it eclipses the previous high
of 52 that competed in both 2006 and 2007. The rich
purse is also a record, bettering the previous mark of
$145,000 set in 2007. Horses are eligible to compete in
these trials if they are maidens as of December 1, 2011.
Among the 61 runners in the trials, 15 have broken their
maiden since December 1. Hector A. Hernandez’s
Checkedbound is the only runner with more than one
victory to his name competing in the trials.
Howard Nichols’ Oceanik is the highest profile horse of
the night based on his third place finish to champion
Separate Fire in last year’s Ed Burke Million Futurity.
The Bobby Cox-bred Oceanik will enter the race with
earnings of $134,090, which easily ranks as the highest
figure among all horses in the trials. The son of Ocean
Runaway proved to be a solid competitor in all of the
major futurity trials last season, as he ran second to
fastest qualifier Fire Moon Lady in the Ed Burke trials,
second to Flying T Bay Club in the Golden State Million
Futurity trials, and fourth to qualifier Madoff in the
Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity trials. Saddled by Joe
Bassett and to be ridden by Saul Ramirez Jr., Oceanik
will compete in the seventh race of the night.
There are four other horses with earnings of over
$20,000 racing in the Maiden trials. This quartet is
headed by the filly Jennifers Challenge, who has posted
eight runner-up efforts in nine career starts. An earner
of $23,880, Jennifers Challenge will go after her
overdue victory in race number three against a cast that
includes the aforementioned Checkedbound, Hawthorne
Futurity runner-up RGR Jungle Jock and the Volcom colt
First Element, who broke his maiden in his only career
start on January 14. The others with over $30,000 in
earnings in these trials are Idol Special Dash, VGW
Holland Classic and Stolis Diamond.
Deleyco Race Team’s Idol Special Dash has made $33,020
in his career, most of that nice amount coming from his
fifth place finish to Fixin To Fly in last year’s
Restricted Grade 1 Governor’s Cup Futurity. Trained by
Jose Flores, he’ll be in the fourth race. Dammien
Navarro’s VGW Holland Classic has made 10 starts in his
career which have resulted in five runner-up efforts.
His workload has resulted in earnings of $22,631 and an
appearance in the Grade 2 $146,000 John Deere Juvenile
Challenge. Eloy Navarro will saddle the colt by Holland
Ease in the fifth race.
Brett Abrams’ Stolis Diamond has made $32,059 in his
career with a bulk of that amount being bankrolled when
he ran fifth to Ima Chickie Two in the PCQHRA Breeders
Futurity last fall. The Stoli gelding will compete in
the evening’s eighth race. RW Red Wave, who was third in
the Ruidoso Juvenile Stakes last summer, and Ed Allred’s
Bawdy, who has hit the board in both of his career
starts, also figure to be major players in this race.
The horses with the 10 fastest times in the trials will
return for the Maiden Stakes final on Sunday, February
26. Previous participants in the Maiden Stakes include
AQHA Champion and Grade 1 Los Alamitos Super Derby
winner Little Bit Of Baja and graded stakes winners
Royal Proclamation and LDS Dash For Dylan.
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