GOLDEN STATE MILLION QUALIFIERS - CONTINUED

TRIAL #6: Winner: Stylish Jess Br Final 1/8th time: 09.43 Final Time: 19.58

It's been a good week at Los Alamitos for Benny Rosset's stable. Last Saturday night, Rosset's Strength In Numbers defeated some of the best older horses in the nation to win the $200,000 Los Alamitos Invitational Championship. On Friday night, his talented 2-year-old filly Stylish Jess Br posted one of the fastest qualifying times to the $1,202,700 Golden State Million Futurity on the way to recording her fourth win in a row.

The filly by Feature Mr Jess, who sired last year's Golden State Million winner Jess You And I, was running at Los Alamitos for the first time since narrowly missing out a spot in the All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs. She sizzled in her return bow, as she lead every step of the way en route to a 3/4 length victory over Thinking First in a time of :19.58.

"She trained well and ran well at Ruidoso," said trainer Paul Jones. "She came back great after running there and she ran a good race tonight."

Stylish Jess Br's only loss in her career came in her first ever start. "She ran second and in my opinion she was unlucky to lose," added the trainer. "She should have won that one. She's the type of filly that loves distance. She had something like the 11th fastest time for the All American Futurity and you can see in these trials that she liked the extra 50 yards since her last start at Los Alamitos."

The complete order of finish follows; Stylish Jess Br, Thinking First, Jrs Big N Rich, Ever Fire Burns SA, Three Green Leaves, Chavela Magic, Shez Snow Quick, Hawks Express, and Toby Dasher.

TRIAL #7: Winner: My Lady First Final 1/8th Time: 09.49 Final Time: 19.50

Sent off at 13-1 odds, My Lady First posted the surprising fastest qualifying time of :19.50 after defeating multiple Grade 1 finalist Miss Kittys Bar Bet by an impressive 2 1/4 lengths. Owned by Rancho El Alacran, which also owns second fastest qualifier Fighter On Fire, My Lady First has had a topsy turvy season that features races in which she bucked and lost her rider back on May 18 while regularly misbehaving in the paddock and at the gate.

"We were confident that Fighter On Fire would run a nice race but we never expected anything like this from My Lady First," said trainer Adan Farias. "I'm super surprised right now. I'm speechless. The thing about this filly is that she's a handful and very difficult to train. I couldn't train her because she's too hot in her stall, too hot in the paddock, too hot on the racetrack, too hot in the gate. With a horse like that you usually just leave them alone but coming into this race I decided to change tactics and we trained her like a donkey. What I mean is that I trained her pretty hard. I trained her like never before and tried everything that I know about training and more. She was crazy in the paddock tonight, she was super pumped up and her adrenalin is at a different level than other horses. Fortunately, everything that we did paid off because she ran an awesome race tonight."

Sired by First Down Dash and out of the Thoroughbred mare Lady Of Lake, My Lady First has now won three of seven starts. She'll be making her first futurity final of her career.

Farias' right hand man when it comes to training is his father, Adan Sr., who has been involved with Quarter Horses his entire life. "My mother's uncle had a lot of nice horses and that's how I got involved with the sport," said the 65-year-old horseman. "I've been training horses at Los Alamitos with my son for the past eight years, but in Mexico I took care of a very famous racehorse named La Yegua Colorada (The Red Mare). She was unbeatable racing in Michoacan region."

La Yegua Colorada had such a cult following in Mexico that she was honored with a legendary Mexican folk song about her remarkable career. The song also inspired a 1974 movie titled "La Yegua Colorada." Farias Sr. also cared for a horse named 'El Gato', who defeated 'El Raton' in one of the most famous Mexican match races of all-time.

The complete order of finish follows; My Lady First, Miss Kittys Bar Bet, Hes A Strawfly, Forgive Him, Sonoma Sunset, Monarch Pass, Dashing Finish, and Summertime Dash.

TRIAL #8: Winner: Carters Cartel Final 1/8th Time: 09.54 Final Time: 19.67

Ridden by J.R. Ramirez for the first time, Carters Cartel lugged out at the start of his trial but he still powered his way to 3/4 length win over Governor's Cup Futurity winner Magic Show Czech. Trained by Jaime Gomez, Carters Cartel finished with the sixth fastest qualifying time.

"He qualified and he did with a winning performance," Gomez said. "That's all you can ask from him. I didn't work him at all since he won his trial to the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity (September 22). All I did was gallop him normal. We'll go easy on him. We'll train him lightly. We don't need to push him hard. We'll just do normal training from here on out. J.R. had never broken out of the gate with him until now. I told J.R. to watch him because he likes to go inside, so I think he was surprised when the horse went out. He'll know the horse a lot better by the time the Golden State final rolls around."

"He didn't break as sharp and he lifted his steps just a little bit," Ramirez said. "He took off to the outside but once he found his stride he gained ground big time on them. We just wanted to get him qualified."

Jerry Young, the ranch manager of Double Bar S Ranch LLC, was on hand to watch the colt by Corona Cartel. Young took the time to remember Carters Cartel early days in training at the Moreno Valley ranch.

"There's a local rider named Angel that works our horses and he was the first person to ever ride Carters Cartel," Young remembered. "We broke him and breezed him at the ranch and then we brought him to the racetrack for Jaime to qualify. The thing I remembered about Carters Cartel is that he was so easy to work with. He did everything easily. He floated when he ran. The more we saw him at the ranch the more we knew that he would be a nice horse. The more we galloped him, the more we liked him. I told Jaime when we brought him, 'Here's your Kindergarten winner.' "

Carters Cartel won the Kindergarten Futurity and then broke the 350-yard track record in the Ed Burke Million Futurity. The colt out of champion Jumping Tac Flash has now won six of seven starts and his earnings in the trials take his career bankroll to $630,717.

The complete order of finish follows; Carters Cartel, Magic Show Czech, One Famous Eagle, El Galun, A Reason To Run, Second Down Perry, Dreaming Sweet, A First Down, and Sixes Power.

The Qualifiers to the Golden State Juvenile Stakes are as follows:

The second fastest ten qualifiers on the night are preferred elgibile to the Golden State Juvenile. They are: Tsunami Splash (:19.765), Masters Call (:19.77), Magic Show Czech (:19.77), Cartel of Diamonds (:19.78), Jrs Big N Rich (:19.78), Philadelphia Patriot (:19.785), Ever Fire Burns SA (:19.815), Kiddy Up (:19.82), Miss Kittys Bar Bet (:19.85), My Jess Perry (:19.90), One Famous Eagle (:19.90).


Race: GOLDEN STATE MILLION FUTURITY-G1

Track: LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE
Trials: OCTOBER 19, 2007
Final: NOVEMBER 2, 2007
Purse: $1,202,700
Age: 2-YEAR-OLDS
Distance: 400 YARDS

Horse Sex Sire-Dam, Dam Sire Time Owner Breeder Trainer Jockey

My Lady First f. First Down Dash--Lady Of Lake (TB), by Salt Lake (TB) :19.505 Rancho El Alacran Shultz Ranch (MEX) Adan Farias Rodrigo Aceves

Fighter On Fire c. First Down Dash--Chenille, by Merridoc :19.525 Rancho El Alacran Shultz Ranch (MEX) Adan Farias Rodrigo Aceves

Stylish Jess Br f. Feature Mr Jess--Stylish Secret, by Dash For Cash :19.580 Benny Rosset James G. Burgess, MD (CA) Paul C. Jones Cody Jensen

Early Morning Bite g. Fishers Dash--Icy Morn (TB), by Crowned Jewel (TB) :19.650 Marcus Smith Vessels Stallion Farm, LLC/D M Cattle Co. (CA) Donna McArthur Samuel H. Thompson

Really A First g. First Down Express--Really Rare, by Raise A Secret :19.665 Edward C. Allred Edward C. Allred (CA) Scott Willoughby Raul Ramirez, Jr.

Carters Cartel c. Corona Cartel--Jumping Tac Flash, by Tolltac :19.670 Double Bar S Ranch LLC, Double Bar S Ranch LLC, (CA) Jaime H. Gomez J.R. Ramirez

Eye For Corona f. Corona Cartel--Eye For The Sixes, by Mr Eye Opener :19.710 Keilani Farms, LLC Mla International Company (OK) Paul C. Jones Ramon Sanchez

Thinking First g. First Down Express--Thinking About Chick, by Chicks Beduino :19.715 Edward C. Allred Edward C. Allred (CA) Scott Willoughby Raul Ramirez, Jr.

Short Czech f. Corona Czech--A Short Cake, by Strawfly Special :19.725 EG High Desert Farm EG High Desert Farm (CA) Daniel G. Luna Juan Andrade

Jess Another Habit f. Mr Jess Perry--First Femme, by First Down Dash :19.760 Vessels Stallion Farm, LLC Vessels Stallion Farm, LLC Michael W. Joiner Cesar DeAlba

Trial Notes: My Lady First won the seventh of eight trials by 2-1/4 lengths to post the fastest qualifying time. Undefeated Ed Burke Memorial Futurity(G1) winner Carters Cartel won the last trial by 1-3/4 lengths to keep his bid alive to win the $1 million Los Alamitos Cash Bonanza.