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Carters Cartel takes the second step toward the Los Alamitos Cash Bonanza on Friday. Photo by Scott Martinez
Carters Cartel Headlines Golden State Million Futurity LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, CYPRESS, CA—OCTOBER 31, 2007—Jaime Gomez got his wish at the post position draw for the 400-yard $1,202,700 Golden State Million held earlier this week. “I wanted either the number three, four or five post position,” said the trainer. “We ended up with post position number five, so I’m very happy about that.”
Gomez has had plenty of reasons to be happy with Carters Cartel this year. The son of Corona Cartel, who is the even money favorite for Friday’s rich Grade 1 Golden State Million, is a perfect three for three this season when he’s started from post position number five. He also enters this race riding a string of six consecutive wins.
He has won two stakes races this year, the Grade 1 Kindergarten Futurity and the Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity, and the latter race made him eligible to win the Los Alamitos Cash Bonanza, which serves as the track’s version of the Triple Crown. If Carters Cartel, who is owned by Double Bar S Ranch LLC, goes on to win the Golden State Million and the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity, he will earn a $1 million cash bonus as part of the Los Alamitos Bonanza.
The Morning LinePP Horse Jockey M/L Odds
1. Stylish Jess Br C. Jensen 7-2
2. My Lady First A. Bautista 8-1
3. Reall A First S. Ramirez 20-1
4. Jess Another Habit C. De Alba 30-1
5. Carters Cartel J. Ramirez 1-1
6. Thinking First R. Ramirez 30-1
7. Early Morning Bite S. Thompson 8-1
8. Short Czech J. Andrade 30-1
9. Fighter On Fire R. Aceves 5-1
10. Eye For Corona R. Sanchez 20-1
“Right now everyone in our camp is very positive,” Gomez said. “The List girls of Double Bar S Ranch LLC, as well as myself, are happy because Carters Cartel is training super good coming into the second leg of the Bonanza.”
Carters Cartel, the nation’s leading 2-year-old colt in earnings with $630,717, posted a solid win from post nine in the Golden State Million trials while lugging out quite a ways during the middle of that race. Interestingly, his only career loss came in his maiden start when he also drew post number nine. He ran third to Kindergarten Futurity finalist Cash This Okie on that night.
“That’s why I love his post position in the Golden State Million,” Gomez added. “I love everything right now. I love the way he’s training and J.R. Ramirez will have a chance to ride the horse for the second time after riding him for the first time in the trials. J.R. is a pro’s pro when it comes to riding horses. I’m happy that he’s on our side riding a horse like Carters Cartel.”
Trainer Adan Farias is also confident about his two outstanding horses – My First Lady and Fighter On Fire. Owned by Rancho El Alacran, the runners by First Down Dash had the two fastest qualifying times to the Golden State Million final.
“We have no excuses going into the Golden State Million,” Farias said. “If my horses get beat is because they would have lost to a better horse. The way they’re training, I couldn’t ask for much more from either of them. Rodrigo Aceves qualified both horses in but he really likes Fighter On Fire. He did tell me that he had plenty in reserve on My First Lady in the trials.”
Breeding Lines Of The Golden State Million Futurity Finalists
Courtesy of Track MagazineListed in qualifying order:
MY LADY FIRST (Mex), f. (First Down Dash--Lady Of Lake TB, by Salt Lake). 1st in 7th by 2-1/4. Now 3-1-0 in 7 starts, this $14,000 earner was 4th in Pomona Juvenile Championship in prior. Sixth foal of unraced TB mare whose biggest runner is $37,000 winner Swiss Lady TB. Second dam is Carousel Madness, a stakes winner of $80,000.
FIGHTER ON FIRE (Mex), c. (First Down Dash--Chenille, by Merridoc). $49,000 earner won California Breeders Freshman S., qualified to the Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Consolation Stakes; Grade 3 California Juvenile Challenge; and Grade 1 Kindergarten Futurity. Brother to Grade 1 winner Firstdown Touchdown ($189,000), ChenillesDasher ($56,000) and Our Honey Bunny ($34,000). He's a half brother to Shadow Of Chenille ($42,000) and Fishers Chenille.
STYLISH JESS BR, f. (Feature Mr Jess--Stylish Secret, by Dash For Cash). Ed Burke Juvenile winner and $27,000 earner is the biggest winner of 6 starters from this sister to G1 winner Meganette ($658,000).
EARLY MORNING BITE, g. (Fishers Dash--Icy Morn TB, by Crowned Jewel). $74,000 earner was 3rd in Grade 1 Rainbow Futurity in prior. Now 2-1-1 in 5, was also 6th in Grade 1 Ruidoso Futurity. Dam is $381,000 major stakes winner who is also dam of stakes winner Icy Lane TB ($120,000), stakes placed winner First Down Morn ($194,000), and this year's Restricted Grade 1 finalist First Icy Morn ($27,000). Second dam is a half-sister to Matching ($532,000) and to the dam of Florentine ($1.1 Million). Early Morning Bite was purchased for $80,000 at Ruidoso Yearling Sale.
REALLY A FIRST, g. (First Down Express-Really Rare, by Raise A Secret). $29,000 earner was 6th in Restricted Grade 1 Governor's Cup F. Now 2-3-1 in 7 starts. Dam is $16,000 earner and this is a half-brother to stakes winner Seldom Happens ($57,000) and Grade 3 winner Realistically ($36,000). Dam is a half-sister to Grade 2 winner So Cal Gal ($71,000), Stakes winner Fedexer $34,000, etc. Many Champions in this family.
CARTERS CARTEL, c. (Corona Cartel--Jumping Tac Flash, by Splash Bac). The nation's No. 2 money earner at $621,000, already winning Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity and Grade 1 Kindergarten Futurity. Now 6-0-1, he was the fastest qualifier for Grade 1 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity and scratched from finals. Dam was named 1993 champion 2-year-old filly. She earned $147,000. Carters Cartel is half-brother to 2006 multiple Grade 1 winner Tac It Like A Man ($394,000), stakes winner Flash First ($352,000), stakes winner Imjumpn ($56,000), and stakes placed winner $89,000, etc. Many big time runners in this family.
EYE FOR CORONA, f. (Corona Cartel--Eye For The Sixes, by Mr Eye Opener). $190,000 earner was 2nd in Grade 1 Ed Burke Million Futurity. Now 2-1-1 in 5. Dam is $63,000 stakes placed winner who ran third in the Grade 1 Rainbow Derby. Second dam is Grade 2 winner Tempered Glass ($104,000), who also produced Grade 1 winner Sixes Royal ($385,000), Grade 3 winner Four Six Dash ($78,000). Family of Champion Sixy Chic ($751,000) and stakes winner Sixarun ($291,000). Eye For Corona is a $90,000 Ruidoso yearling.
THINKING FIRST, g. (First Down Express--Thinking About Chick, by Chicks Beduino). Dam is a half-sister to First Thoughts ($234,000) and a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Planet Holland ($799,000), etc.
SHORT CZECH, f. (Corona Czech--A Short Cake, by Strawfly Special). $12,000 earner was third in California Breeders Freshman Stakes. Now 2-2-1 in 5. Dam is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Natovas Princess ($414,000) and stakes winner Our Liquidator ($265,000). Family of First Down Hero ($335,000) and Miracle Streak ($139,000).
JESS ANOTHER HABIT, f. (Mr Jess Perry--First Femme, by First Down Dash). Half-sister to Champion Old Habits ($681,000), Grade 1 winner One More Habit ($273,000), First Wrangler ($96,000), stakes winner Habitual ($42,000), etc. Dam is major stakes winner of ($31,000) and sister to Fishers Dash, Dash To Chivato, Check Her Twice,etc. Second dam is Fishers Favorite.
Inside The Numbers Of The Golden State Million THE RACE: No 2-year-old filly has ever raced the opening 180 yards of the Golden State Futurity trials faster than top qualifier My Lady First. Owned by Rancho El Alacran, the First Down Dash filly blasted out of the gate as if shot by a cannon, on the way to a :10.01 opening figure which led her to owning the evening's top qualifying time of :19.50. Her explosive start helped her produce an impressive 2 ¼ length win, easily the most eye-catching performance on trial night.
To put it in perspective, champion Jess You And I won the Golden State Million Futurity final last year thanks in part by opening 180 yard clocking of :10.00 flat. The Feature Mr Jess gelding continued his powerful run by coming home in a time of :09.37 to complete his stakes record clocking of :19.37. If My Lady First leaves the gate in the final like she did in the trials, she could have a nice advantage going into the final 220 yards of this Grade 1 final.
THE SPEED: My Lady First was not the only filly to show impressive early speed. Eye For Corona, the runner-up in this year's Ed Burke Million Futurity, kicked-off her trial race with an opening 180 yard time of :10.11. The name of Jess You And I comes into play once again, as he ran the same opening distance in his trial effort in :10.14. That was the fastest opening time among the qualifiers to last year's Golden State Million, and remember, last year's Golden State also featured the likes of champions Blues Girl Too, FDD Dynasty and The Crawfish. Carters Cartel ran a solid :10.13 in the early going - an excellent time considering that he lugged out after breaking from post nine in the trials. Only 4/100ths of a second - or about a ¼ length separated the opening 180-yard times of Stylish Jess Br, Short Czech, Early Morning Bite, Really A First and Fighter On Fire.
THE FINAL KICK: Overshadowed by My Lady First's performance was the great overall effort of stablemate Fighter On Fire. Fighter On Fire had the fourth fastest opening 180-yard time in the trials but he came home in a solid :09.38 in the final 220 yards. Remember, Jess You And I came home in :09.37 in his winning effort in the Golden State Million finale. Stylish Jess Br and Jess Another Habit also flew in the final 220 yards in their trials. Jess Another Habit's half brother is Old Habits, who won the 440-yard All American Derby. In other words, it's in Jess Another Habit's blood to show a strong lick at the finish.
Benny Rosset's Stylish Jess Br won her trial to the 440-yard All American Futurity, so she's also capable of keeping up with the field in the late goings of the Golden State Million. My Lady First's final 220-yard time is a bit deceiving because she under any late pressure, as she was cruising to the tune of a 2-¼ length win. How much faster could she have gone than the :09.49 clocking that she posted in the trials. And what about Double Bar S Ranch LLC's Carters Cartel? The great looking colt by Corona Cartel came home in a time of :09.54 - a solid but not overwhelming final time. One shouldn't place too much weight on that final clocking, as this impressive bay colt has proven his ability, talent and class this year while certainly earning the right to be called California's top 2-year-old Quarter Horse so far this season.
Ed Allred's duo of Thinking First and Really A First and Marcus Smith's Early Morning Bite each posted identical 220-yard times of :09.48, making them interesting contenders going into the final. If any of these geldings shows a little more early speed, they will be major threat to the early leaders of California's richest Quarter Horse race so far this year – the $1,202,700 Golden State Million Futurity.
Contenders Have Their Eyes On Carters CartelIt was a good news and bad news kind of trial night for EG High Desert Farms’ Short Czech. The bad news is that the filly by Corona Czech lost her trial race to Keilani Farms’ Eye For Corona by a nose. The good news - and the only thing that really mattered in the end -was that the Daniel Luna-trainee still qualified to the $1,202,700 Golden State Million final.
Enrique Gonzalez, the owner of EG High Desert, waited a full year to see one of his colorbearers run in the Golden State Million. He had Magical Latin Lover qualify with the fastest time to last year’s Golden State Million, but the speedy runner suffered an injury in the trials and was not able to compete in the final. Short Czech will now give Gonzalez the joy of watching one of his horses run in one of the nation’s richest Quarter Horse races.
“It’s always fun to compete in a race of the magnitude of the Golden State Million,” Gonzalez added. “Everyone of my horses is special in their own way. To see one of them do something extraordinary like Short Czech did by qualifying to this race, that’s just like the cherry on the cake.”
Appropriately, Short Czech’s mother is named A Short Cake, and as a producer she is the dam of winners Rico Cake and A Hawkin Cake. Short Czech has finished in the money in all five of her career starts, winning two of those races. She also ran third to fellow Golden State Million finalist Fighter On Fire in the California Breeders Freshman Stakes.
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Keilani Farms' Eye For Corona outdueled Short Czech to win the third of eight trials to the Golden State Million Futurity. Eye For Corona, who ran second in the $1,130,000 Ed Burke Million Futurity earlier this year, was winning for the first time since her trial to the Ed Burke Million. In her previous outing, the daughter of Corona Cartel had a troubled trip, as she was bumped while crossing the wire sixth. She was then moved up to fifth following a disqualification.
Eye For Corona didn't face any serious trouble in this race and the result was a solid win over the aforementioned Short Czech. Eye For Corona escaped any serious trouble at the start of this race and the result was a nice victory. Ramon Sanchez will pilot Eye For Corona for trainer Paul Jones.
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Ed Allred and T.J. Simers’ Kiddy Up, a finalist in the Ed Burke Million Futurity, will headline the $35,000 Golden State Juvenile for 2-year-olds on Friday night. Kiddy Up ran second in his trial in a race in which he was making up ground at the end. Saul Ramirez will ride for trainer John Bassett. Tsunami Splash, who ran third to Fighter On Fire in the trials, appears to be one of Kiddy Up’s main rivals.
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Runs Hot, who has not raced since being scratched out of the Kindergarten Futurity, will make her return to action in Friday’s seventh race. Owned by Ken O’Brien, the daughter of Corona Caliente will face Perksandmiracles, who ran in the Kindergarten.
Courtesy of
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Subject: Carters Cartel Headlines Golden State Million Futurity 
November 1st 2007, 1:25 am