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JUS LEDOUX IT IS FASTEST QUALIFIER TO $134,000 MAIDEN STAKES
CYPRESS, CA. - FEBRUARY 6, 2010 - The partnership of Vessels Stallion Farm and
Los Bustardos has enjoyed great success over the years with the outstanding
champion Little Bit Of Baja, the winner of the 2007 Los Alamitos Super Derby and
a two-time runner-up in the Champion of Champions.
The rise of the remarkable Little Bit Of Baja began early in 2007 when the son
of First Down Dash qualified to the Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes. Vessels Stallion
Farm and Los Bustardos are now hoping that their young sprinter Jus Ledoux It
can reach some of the heights of Little Bit Of Baja following his qualifying
effort to this year's $134,000 Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes.
Ridden by Rodrigo Aceves for trainer Adan Farias, Jus Ledoux It posted the
fastest qualifying time to the February 27 Maiden Stakes final after covering
the 350 yards in a flashy :17.263 when winning the third of six trials contested
on Saturday. Jus Ledoux It needed every bit of that effort, as Felix A.
Gonzalez's Brooklyn Boy put a ton of pressure throughout as he posted the second
fastest time of :17.292. Brooklyn Boy survived an inquiry in this race, as he
broke inward to bump a rival hard before bouncing back with a powerful trial
race. The two fastest qualifiers will be joined in the Maiden Stakes final by
the following eight horses: Secret Path (:17.432), Montana Cartel (:17.437), B
Zoom (:17.437), Stelly Savalas (:17.452), Lite My Fyre (:17.455), AB Another
Runner (:17.458), Howlin Mad (:17.459), and Stel Master (17.494).
Starting from post seven, Jus Ledoux It flew out of the gate to establish a
daylight advantage over Brooklyn Boy. The Debbie Horrocks and Robert
Cunningham-bred runner saw his lead shrink in the second half of the race, but
he continued to battle and would not be denied his maiden victory in seven
career starts.
"He surprised me," Farias said of the son of A Regal Choice. "This is his third
start since being gelded and that has helped him a great deal. He had always
been a little hard to train because he would act very studdy. He was a handful
to deal with, but since we gelded him he has been a lot better. Sometimes that's
exactly what a young horse needs to help him focus on running. He was a horse
that needed that."
Farias saddled two other qualifiers in B Zoom and Stel Master.
"B Zoom is another horse that we gelded recently," he added. "This was only his
second start since he was gelded. He broke okay but he did not let the other
horse (Stelly Savalas) run past him. He was determined not to lose."
Robert Williams is the owner of B Zoom. Williams had two horses represent him in
last year's Maiden Stakes in Famous Dial and Deep Creek Bobbie, but the long
time owner is still searching for his first victory in this race.
"I've been training for Mr. Williams for a couple of years now and he's a great
client," Farias added. "I've actually only met him once before. We went to eat
together. He is a quiet man, but he says a lot with only a few words."
Trainer Bret Vickery has enjoyed his share of success in the Los Alamitos Maiden
Stakes and this year's renewal was no exception. Vickery, who won this race with
LDS Dash For Dylan in 2005 and also qualified the stakes winning Honor Me Good
in 2008, will have a pair of reps in this year's Maiden final. Vickery qualified
Dee and Gary Hoovestal's Montana Cartel after the Southern Cartel filly finished
second to FF Racing Stables' Secret Path in the second of six trials. Vickery
also had the biggest surprise of the night, as Dennie and Kris Hill's Lite My
Fyre won the fourth trial at odds of 25-1.
"I think Lite My Fyre has improved a ton," Vickery said. "She stepped it up a
bunch in her race before these trials. I thought she had a shot because of that
race. In this trial she was in a photo with AB Another Runner, who is a full
brother of AB What A Runner."
AB What A Runner, of course, is the champion millionaire and All American
Futurity winning filly that Dennie and Kris Hill campaigned with Vickery as the
trainer.
"AB Another Runner and AB What A Runner are both out of Be So Merry and by Royal
Quick Dash. It was exciting to watch (Lite My Fyre) fight it out with a brother
to a horse that I knew so well. Montana Cartel is one of the most honest horses
you will ever see. She never runs a bad race and she almost always hits the
board. I thought she ran a nice race tonight."
Vickery added that his plans for 2010 are similar to his strategy from previous
years.
"I'll run horses in the Northwest and we'll keep 15 to 20 horses at Los
Alamitos," he explained. "We'll run some of our better horses here and hope that
they perform well. We have four paid to the biggest futurities at Los Alamitos
and we hope that they pan out. Dennie and Kris have an Ocean Runaway out of AB
What A Runner and Dan Moon has a couple of nice runners that he purchased at the
Los Alamitos Equine Sale last year. I also have a baby for Brenda and Harvey
Pickens. I'm looking forward to a good meet at Los Alamitos and I would love to
start the meet in a good way in the Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes."
Champion trainer Paul Jones will also has a pair of runners in the Maiden
finale. Jones qualified Double Bar S Ranch's Stelly Savalas, a good looking son
by Stel Corona, as well as Ronald Ore-Giron's AB Another Runner.
The stallion Stel Corona and Walk Thru Fire are the only stallions with multiple
qualifiers to this year's Maiden finale. In addition to Stelly Savalas, Stel
Corona is the sire of Stel Master, while 2009 Three Bars Award winner Walk Thru
Fire is the sire of Lite My Fyre and the Felipe Quintero-trained Secret Path,
who looked sharp in winning the opening trial in the evening's third fastest
time.