FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DECEMBER 12, 2009
CONTACT LOS ALAMITOS PUBLICITY
714-820-2690
PHENOMENAL FREAKY WINS CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS
LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, CYPRESS, CA... Freaky, the nation's top ranked Quarter
Horse, completed one of the most remarkable seasons in recent memory after
posting a 1/2 length victory in the 38th running of the Champion of Champions
Saturday at Los Alamitos.
"Super Freaky", as he is known at Los Alamitos, was bumped lightly at the start
of the race but quickly took control to take the lead and power his way to the
second fastest time ever in Champion of Champions history. Ridden by Francisco
Rubio for owner Armando Aguirre, Freaky covered the distance in :21.06 over a
wet fast track - a time that left him few ticks of the clock behind Jess You And
I's track record of :20.94 posted last year. Freaky, a son of Ed Allred's TR
Dasher out of the young Allred-owned broodmare Chickasecret, is not short on
track records. He posted three of them this year, lowering marks to unimaginable
times at the venerable Orange County track, including three different sub :19.20
clockings at 400 yards. No other Quarter Horse had done that at Los Alamitos and
he still holds the three fastest times ever posted at that distance here.
Ed Allred and Paul Jones' Foose was moved up from third to second following the
disqualification of Stylish Jess Br after the stewards ruled that she had
interfered with eventual sixth place finisher Hawk In The City. Stylish Jess Br
was moved from second to seventh place. Fighter On Fire and Separate Bet
finished in a dead-heat for third place. My Lady First, Hawk In The City,
Stylish Jess Br, defending Champion of Champions winner Jess You And I, Masters
Call, and two-time Champion of Champions runner-up Little Bit Of Baja completed
the field.
"I'm thrilled and completely blown away with what (Freaky) has done," said
Aguirre of Surprise, Arizona. "What this horse has done has been amazing. The
support that so many of our friends and family have given us has been one of the
most outstanding things about this whole experience. Tonight we had about 70
people here cheering for this horse, all of them for no other reason than they
wanted this to happen for the horse and us."
The Freaky phenomenon brought people together from Ohio, Texas, Kansas,
Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico, all part of the Freaky posse that
cheered the 4-year-old gelding to victory at Los Alamitos. A sea of people that
overflowed the Los Alamitos winner's circle was proof of what Freaky has meant
to Aguirre and his family.
"Amazing and indescribable, that's Freaky," said Aurelio Valdez, younger brother
of one of the key members of Freaky's entourage.
Valdez's older brother, Jose Valdez, is Aguirre's son-in-law and one of the
family's most fervent racing fans. Aguirre and Valdez were the ones that decided
to purchase Freaky privately from Allred earlier this year.
"My daughter Arianna simply loves Freaky," explained Jose Valdez. "Freaky is a
people horse. Everyone that is around him loves this horse."
"This is a dream come true for all of us," Aurelio continued. "Everyone is
sharing this victory. We all loved Freaky when he was a 2-year-old. He was
awesome when he qualified to a couple of big races."
Freaky fast is what Freaky has been in 2009. With track records at 350 and 400
yards, stakes records in three Grade 1 races, and a total of four Grade 1 wins
to his name, Freaky is now considered the overwhelming favorite to be named
World Champion when the American Quarter Horse Association names its champions
in January of 2010. Freaky, who earned $375,000 for his Champion of Champions
victory, wraps up his year with six wins from nine starts and earnings of
$580,860. Freaky's stakes victories include the Spencer L. Childers California
Breeders Championship Handicap, Vessels Maturity, Robert L. Boniface Los
Alamitos Invitational Championship, and now the Champion of Champions. He is
also the owner of the second and third fastest 440-yard times ever recorded at
Los Alamitos. Adan Farias earned his first training win in the Champion of
Champions thanks to Freaky.
"I was trying not to show it but I was very nervous before this race," Farias
said. "I have not been able to sleep for the last couple of nights."
Farias credited 22-year-old jockey Francisco Rubio for his fine work aboard the
phenomenal Freaky.
"Rubio has been a blessing," Farias said. "Mario Gonzalez was working for us
galloping horses and helping us out but he got injured. With Mario being out we
were looking for someone to help us. (Jockey) Eddie Garcia told us about
Francisco and highly recommended him. We brought him to gallop for us and we
started giving him mounts on some longshots. Francisco is a class guy. He
listens and works hard. He's not bothered by the magnitude of Grade 1 races and
looking at him I never saw him being affected by the pressures of big races. In
the saddling paddock before this race, I looked at him and he looked more
relaxed than me. I knew he was going to be okay right then and there.
"Francisco told me after the race that Freaky had no problem with the track,"
Farias added. "The only thing that bothered him was at the start. He was bumped
a little bit and it took him a while to get rolling. Three quarters into the
race he was rolling and I was feeling great at that point."
"The horse is sound and still has a big future ahead of him," Jose Valdez
continued. "We want four Champion of Champions! His trainer is going to be one
that's going to decide when Freaky runs again. He'll tell us when he will run
again."
Farias plans to give Freaky a few days off and in a week or so he will x-ray the
horse. If x-rays reveal anything of importance then action will be taken right
away Farias said. If the x-rays come back clean, then Freaky will be turned out
for three or four months. The Vessels Maturity in June of 2010 is a possibility
according to Farias. If there are no major setbacks, Freaky will definitely run
in the Go Man Go Handicap and then the Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Invitational
Championship.
Foose, winner of a couple of million dollar races in his great career, earned
$120,000 for running second in this race to move his lifetime mark to
$1,616,938. Ramon Sanchez piloted the winner of this year's $1 million Los
Alamitos Super Derby and last year's $1.15 million Ed Burke Million Futurity. He
also finished second in two other million-dollar races, the Golden State Million
Futurity and the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity. Foose, a leading contender
for this year's champion 3-year-old colt title, joins 2007 World Champion Blues
Girl Too as horses to have finished in the top two in four different million
dollar races. Are there any other horses to have accomplished that feat?
"Foose ran a great race," Jones said. "He's right there at 350, close at 400,
and we only get beat by a half-length to Freaky. I am very proud of this horse.
He is all heart. He's going to stud and I think he will be great. I think he's
the next Corona Cartel."
Rancho El Alacran's Fighter On Fire and Jimmy and Duane Harrel and JoAnn Adams'
Separate Bet could not be separated at the wire and had to share third place.
They each earned $63,750 for running third.
Jess You And I's bid to become the first back-to-back winner of the Champion of
Champions since 1998 ended after a slow start. He still earned $15,000 for his
effort to bring his career total to $1,339,536. Little Bit Of Baja, who was
making his third appearance in the Champion of Champions, also earned $15,000.
He's made $851,554 in his 23 career starts.