GOVERNOR'S CUP FUTURITY & DERBY RESULTS

COURTESY OF STALLIONESEARCH AND LOS ALAMITOS




Magic Show Czech Captures Governor's Cup on California Champion Night



LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, CYPRESS, CA—EG High Desert Farms' Magic Show Czech blew away the previous stakes record in the Governor's Cup Futurity after winning the 350-yard race in a sizzling time of :17.22 Saturday at Los Alamitos.

The homebred Corona Czech gelding posted a clocking that was 10/100ths of a second faster than the previous record shared by Tac It Like A Man and Checknbac.

Ridden by J.R. Ramirez for trainer Daniel Luna, Magic Show Czech earned $165,900 for winning as the 3-1 second choice in the wagering. Magic Show Czech, who ran fifth in the Ed Burke Million Futurity two races ago, improved to two wins from five starts while raising his bankroll to $235,300.

"I knew that if he had a strong break that we could win this race," Luna said. "He left the gate in super fashion and that was the key to our win. We figured Bikers Bono would be our biggest threat but we were confident because we out broke (fastest qualifier) My Buddie in the trials. My Buddie was awesome in the trials but we out broke him."

In his first year ever training horses for EG High Desert Farms, the 41-year-old Luna was picking up his biggest win ever with a Quarter Horse. "Enrique Gonzalez (owner of EG High Desert) has given me my biggest opportunity in racing. He has a lot of great horses."

On the way to becoming one of the top racing operations in the nation, Gonzalez has gone through his share of trainers. They were the leading owners when under the watch of Adan Farias last season and earlier this year Cody Joiner ran the barn at Los Alamitos. Gonzalez admits that training his horses has not always been a simple task for his trainers.

"I've always had very good trainers looking after my horses," he began. "But I'm very busy because of my supermarkets so I'm not always around the horses. The trainers don't see me on a regular basis so communication is always a big issue. A lot of the time the lack of communication has been my fault and I understand that training for me can be difficult. It's like if a trainer is going to train for me they pretty much have to give up all their other horses and become my private trainer. I had that with Conception Balderrama, who trained (champion) Hawkish and I have that with Daniel Luna right now. I think Daniel and I are going to do well together."

Gonzalez's supermarket business is growing each year. His family now operates around 25 stores with more being added each year.

"My brothers and nephews are involved and that's why we've been able to grow so much. We're expanding to Northern California and places like Fresno, Delano, Oxnard, Santa Maria."

Gonzalez currently has 22 horses at the track, few better than Magic Show Czech. "He was a very excited horse in his younger days," Gonzalez said. "The first time I touched him he jumped. I felt that he would be fast because he had a great temperament. He's shown me a lot."

Magic Show Czech represents the biggest winner for sire Corona Czech, who according to Gonzalez had around 65 to 70 outside mares bred to him this year.

"I really didn't think we would win this race," he added. "I thought we could be in the chase to finish in third place. Bikers Bono looked so fast in the trials and I didn't think we could beat him."

Magic Show Czech crossed the wire 1-½ lengths ahead of Nancy Scane's Ought To Be Rapid and another ½ length ahead of Bikers Bono. Both of those horses came into this race undefeated.

"Magic Show Czech is the horse that worried me," said Jane Rosenberg, who is one of 15 people that owns Bikers Bono. "I'm a little disappointed because I thought that we could do it tonight. Magic Show Czech had proved himself to be a super horse and he showed it again with this stakes record race. I don't think we had any excuses. We're sad but you have to remember that we bought Bikers Bono for $15,000 at the Los Alamitos Equine Sale and he just made $47,400 in this race alone."

Ought To Be Rapid, saddled by Patricia Visscher and ridden by Juan Andrade, earned $67,150 for his runner-up effort.

Hawk In The City, First Icy Morn, Really A First, Azure Down There, Ever Fire Burns SA and Air Traffic Controlr completed the field.

Fdd Dynasty Scores Huge Win In Governor's Cup Derby

Wave Carver parlayed his win in the Governor s Cup Derby into victories in the Los Alamitos Super Derby, Champion of Champions on the way to being named the AQHA's World Champion. Similar success could be in store for new millionaire FDD Dynasty, who is owned by Pat Guthrie, Billy Smith and Frank "Scoop" Vessels, after the champion colt posted an impressive neck victory over El Primero Del Ano Derby winner Not A Full Moon in the $170,000 Governor s Cup Derby on Saturday.

"It would be impossible to think it could go that way again," said Vessels, who is also part owner of Wave Carver. "He's back and he's back looking like a true professional. It's hard to imagine that he could be as good as Ocean Runaway or Wave Carver (who are the last two Champion of Champions winners and were both sired by Vessels' First Down Dash) but FDD Dynasty has got all the credentials to do it. G.R. Carter said he only tapped him. He didn't have to ride him very hard at the end.

"The credit for FDD Dynasty's success goes to my partners Pat Guthrie, Billy Smith and trainers Mike and Cody Joiner. They've planned FDD Dynasty's schedule for this year. They operated on him in the winter, rested him at my place, and they had him back ready for the trials to this race. They planned his schedule perfectly."

Carter, who won this race while using a saddle borrowed from fellow jockey Alejandro Luna, piloted FDD Dynasty to a winning 400-yard time of :19.46. In winning, FDD Dynasty earned $69,300 to take his career earnings to $1,017,826. The son of First Down Dash also improved his record to seven wins from nine starts.

Carter had one of the stirrups in his saddle snap in half after Romanticist stepped on the bar in the gate prior to the running of the Matron Stakes earlier on the night. That's when Carter used one of Luna's saddles. Luna, by the way, finished second in this race aboard Not A Full Moon. FDD Dynasty's victory came with a few anxious moments.

The winner of last year's Ed Burke Million Futurity and runner-up in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity appeared a little antsy in the starting gate, as he turned his head several times prior to the start of the race.

"I was nervous when he did that," said assistant trainer Cody Joiner. "He had never done that before. There were a lot of people in the paddock so that was probably a factor. He was revved up tonight. Other than what he did in the gate, he ran like a pro."

FDD Dynasty broke a step or two behind Not A Full Moon, but that wasn't exactly surprising to his connections.

"The Ed Burke is the only race in which he has come out of the gate on top," said Pat Guthrie. "FDD Dynasty doesn't break on top but he makes up with his closing speed. That extra gear that he has at the end always makes his races exciting. He's made fools out of us a few times because we think it's over when he doesn't break on top but then he gets going at the end and he finishes them off."

Smith has a slightly different take on FDD Dynasty's way of winning.

"There's a lot of parity in this sport," he said. "A horse has to run a perfect race every time to win. (FDD Dynasty) is special and we think he's a Champion of Champions caliber horse. We'd like to think that he's on the road to making that goal."

Next up for FDD Dynasty could be the trials to the Golden State Derby on August 18. "Those trials are an option," said Mike Joiner. "We'll have to wait and see how he pulls up from this race."

Owned by Ron and Denise Van Amburgh, Not A Full Moon earned $28,050 for his runner-up effort. Ed Allred's trio of Ten Oclock Scholar, which he owns in partnership with Tom Seibly, Future Father, and First Down Morn, which he co-owns with Ron Shalz, followed the top two finishers. Sir Runaway Dash, Don Juan Bryan SA, Dimples First Dash, Checknbac and Way Down Town completed the field.