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by Scott Martinez
LONGSHOT I
LIKE THE ODDS WIN CALIFORNIA’S RICHEST HORSE RACE OF 2011
CYPRESS, CA - Dec. 11, 2011 - Less than an hour after Kim Kessinger,
Tom Bradbury and Howard Nichols’ I Like The Odds had secured his
place as one of the 10 Quarter Horses running in the richest race
ever contested at Los Alamitos Race Course, trainer Joe Bassett
lounged around in the Vessels Club bar, talking about the post
position he would want for his horse in the $2,236,300 futurity
final.
“I’ll take the one hole right now,” Bassett said with a smile after
I Like The Odds’ trial victory on that cool and wet November night.
Bassett wasn’t kidding about the rail for I Like The Odds, who came
out of the 400-yard trials as the second fastest qualifier. At the
post position selection show on Wednesday, December 7, the trainer
could only choose from two spots. He could either take post position
number one or number three. It was not a contest. “Bear Dog”, as he
is known around the track, took the one hole, just like he had
predicted he would on trial night. On Sunday, December 11, racing
for California’s largest purse for a horse race in 2011, I Like The
Odds left no doubt as to who was number one.
Ridden by Ramon Sanchez, the gelded son of Corona Cartel flew out of
the gate to move more than a length ahead of his closest rivals
before beginning to drift away from the gate to find plenty of elbow
room. Kicking dirt to those behind him, I Like The Odds made sure
that he kept the outside horses at bay on the way to a convincing
one length victory in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity. A
winner of only $7,640 after his first six starts, I Like The Odds
earned a track record payout of $903,966 for winning the second
richest race in Quarter Horse racing history. An 11-1 longshot, I
Like The Odds covered the 400 yards in :19.638. He made $46,031 for
every second of his winning race.
“I wanted him to be somewhere inside,” said Bassett after the race.
“You can get bumped when you’re racing in the one hole, but very
rarely do you get eliminated from a race down there. I wanted him to
have the best shot to get away from there and I thought that the one
hole would be fine for him. I won three races all year long going
into the Two Million trials and since then I’ve won four races in
the last three weeks including this race. It’s been a crazy year in
that way.”
I Like The Odds was a longshot in the race, but the Bassetts are
always the favorites to win this race. Between Joe and his father,
John, the Bassetts have now won six of the 17 runnings of this race.
John won the first ever Los Alamitos Million Futurity in 1995 and
has won four in all. Joe won the 2006 running when Blues Girl Too
won the first ever Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity from post
position number one of course. This is second victory in this race.
“I don’t think I know what the secret is to winning this race,” this
year’s winning trainer said. ““It’s crazy to think that we’ve won
this race six times. At the start of every year, we’re always aiming
for this race. Some years it works to perfection and some years it
does not. We want our horses to be at their very best on this night.
Tonight, it worked wonderfully. My dad, he broke this horse and did
a great job like he always does. The ability was always there with
this horse and the big thing was that they gelded him and that got
his head in the right frame of mind. I didn’t have to do much once I
got him here at Los Alamitos. I just had to keep him pointed in the
right direction. If I was writing a book on how to win the Los
Alamitos Two Million Futurity, I would have to say that the first
chapter would be titled ‘Have Great Owners’. That’s where everything
starts. I couldn’t be happier for Kim, Tom and Howard. This couldn’t
happen to better people. They’ve stuck with me – it’s been rough –
and I have to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
Kessinger, Bradbury and Nichols are not newbies to the game of
Quarter Horse racing. They know all about the highs and lows of the
sport. On the night of the richest wins of their lives, the three
amigos could appreciate the occasion.
“I was the co-owner of (2002 Champion of Champions winner)
Whosleavingwho and I didn’t cherish him enough back then,” Kessinger
said. “Whosleavingwho won something like 23 races and won so many
big ones that it was unbelievable. I should have cherished that
more. We bought Whosleavingwho, but we raised this baby and when you
do that it’s a lot more special. I didn’t think he would win this
race, but even if we would have been dead last I was going to
appreciate it. It’s been a lot of fun and it’s great to do it with
these guys. I’ve known Tom for 30 years in the business and I like
to see him have success in this business.”
“Winning something like this is incredibly hard to do,” said
Bradbury, who co-owned 1990 Champion of Champions winner Dash For
Speed. “You have to celebrate a win like this because there can be
some long dry spells in between wins. A win like this one
re-energizes you. This is why we do it and this is what keeps us
going. I’ve threatened to quit this game before, but I’ve never done
it. I don’t quit because it’s a dream to win something like this.
Tonight that dream came true.”
Kessinger of Akron, Colorado and Bradbury of Aurora, Colorado bred I
Like The Odds and are the owners of his mother, the 2004 La Primera
Del Ano Derby winner Fancys First Affair, who is stabled at Royal
Vista Equine in Oklahoma.
“I Like The Odds is her first colt,” Kessinger said. “That mare won
her first four starts and she could really leave out of there.
That’s how he is. Fancys First Affair was a massive mare. She got so
heavy that her racing career self destructed because of that. We
bred her to Corona Cartel because we felt that she would cross well
with him because of her size.”
Nichols of Gilbert, Arizona joined the ownership partnership on I
Like The Odds after Bradbury and Kessinger repurchased him at the
Ruidoso Yearling Sale. Nichols bought one third of the horse after
the repurchase.
“I remember five years ago Jaime Gomez and John Bassett were talking
and joking around and John said that he was surprised I hadn’t fired
him because we couldn’t win one race together. I told him that I
would stick with him until him or his son won one for me. I’ve had
horses with John for a long time. In the 1980s, John trained for me
at the Arizona fair meets, but I had no stock. I told him then that
I would get out of the game for a while and when I was doing better
financially I would get back into the game with something
worthwhile.
“You have to know that John and I have known each other since we
were little boys,” Nichols added. “His father, Joe Bassett Sr., knew
my dad and they were friend for a long time. That’s how I got to
know John. John introduced me to Kim and then I met Tom. I couldn’t
ask for better friends and partners. They’ve always treated me with
great respect.”
Even before this victory, it was already a fun year for Nichols, a
retired farmer.
“I was thrilled when Oceanik finished third for me in the Ed Burke
Million Futurity,” he said of his Joe Bassett-trainee. “I didn’t
think it could get any better than Oceanik, but now this has come
along. If this never, ever happens again, I can at least say that I
got here once.”
As for the Bassetts, six times is now the number of times they’ve
been ‘here’.
“In the end it all boils down to Joe,” Kessinger added. “Bear has
done an outstanding job getting this horse ready and I’m glad for
him the most. He’s a young man trying to make a living in this
business and this is a tough game. I’m glad for me. I’m glad for all
of the guys associated with this horse. They’re all as good as
gold.”
Last To Fire, the 2-1 favorite, broke poorly, but made a huge rush
to move from seventh place to second place for owners Jesus Avila
and Jesus Cuevas. Ridden by Francisco Rubio and trained by Juan
Aleman, the gelding by Walk Thru Fire earned $365,891. Third in the
Golden State Futurity on October 30, Last To Fire finishes the year
with earnings of $513,284 from his seven starts. Last To Check Him,
who was purchased for only $2,000 at the 2010 Los Alamitos Equine
Sale, earned $258,276 for running third. Hez Our Secret, BPS Jumpin
Frisco, Hit It Big, Eye On Corona, Igotyourtac, Terrific Synergy and
Madoff completed the field.
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