Making his second start after a long layoff, EG High Desert Farms' Hawkish Got Rhythm posted an impressive come-from-behind victory to take the $25,000 Town Policy Handicap on Friday at Los Alamitos. The Town Policy serves as the consolation race for the $1,000,000 Los Alamitos Super Derby with horses that competed in the October 16 trials receiving preference to run in this 400-yard race. The field to the Town Policy featured four trial runners plus three other outstanding performers, including Sgt Pepper Feature Handicap and Garden Grove Handicap winner Making Choices also raced.

As strong a field as the Town Policy presented, Hawkish Got Rhythm outdid them all. Ridden by Rodrigo Aceves and trained by Adan Farias, Hawkish Got Rhythm rallied from a 3/4 length deficit to catch Mr B in the final 50 yards en route to victory at 8-1 odds. J. Garvan Kelly and Nancy Yearsley's Royal Proclamation finished as the runner-up, crossing the wire a neck behind the winner. Mr B held on to third place.

Earlier this year Hawkish Got Rhythm was fifth in the Los Alamitos Winter Derby before going home to rest. After an eight-month layoff, the Hawkish colt returned with a very good fourth to Fantastic Corona Jr in the Super Derby trials prior to this impressive performance in which he covered the 400 yards in :19.687.

"He needed that last race," said jockey Rodrigo Aceves. "He was a little rusty in that race but he was much sharper tonight. He tried to break in tonight, but once he got going he set his sights on Mr B and we caught them at the end. I stuck with this horse and I'm happy because I've been get some of these decisions wrong this year."

Aceves had also piloted Heza Hot Habit to a nice allowance victory on October 18, but Hawkish Got Rhythm was his choice for this race. Like Aceves noted, the jockey has had the bad luck of taking off the nation's number one horse Freaky to ride Fighter On Fire earlier this year and all Freaky has done is win the Vessels Maturity and Los Alamitos Invitational Championship. Aceves then took off Fighter On Fire to ride the champion Little Bit Of Baja in the Bank of America Challenge Championship. Unfortunately for Aceves, Fighter On Fire beat him and Little Bit Of Baja in that $350,000 race.

"That happens sometimes," Aceves explained. "I got beat by horses from the same barn that I was riding for, so that's okay."

Even without those stakes victories, Aceves is having another outstanding year. The pilot is currently the meet's leading Quarter Horse rider, edging Ramon Sanchez by a 142 to 136 margin. "Being the leading rider at Los Alamitos is extremely important to me," Aceves said. "I never imagined I would ever be in a position to be a leading rider but I'm going after my fourth title at Los Alamitos. That's something that every once in a while I have to pinch myself to make sure that I'm not dreaming."

Riding Hawkish Got Rhythm must have felt like a dream. The colt ran so strong at the end that he always looked like a winner after the field made their way past the 1/16th pole. Bred by EG High Desert, he has now won three of 11 starts. He earned $13,750 for this win to take his career earnings to $49,137. Hawkish Got Rhythm joins Debutante Handicap winner Catahawk, Grade 3 John Deere Texas Juvenile Challenge winner Red Heels, and Dixie Downs Futurity winner Tisa Dream Runne as stakes winners sired by the 2003 Ed Burke Memorial Futurity winner of $685,631.

Runner-up Royal Proclamation, who picked up $5,625 in this race, will now be pointed to the Southern California Derby trials to be held later this month. The gelding by A Regal Choice has had an outstanding campaign. He won the Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes and the El Primero Del Ano Derby here before running in the Rainbow Derby and finishing third in the All American Derby. He stumbled at the start of his Super Derby trial and missed qualifying after running fifth.

"We thought about the Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trials but that would have meant running against a horse like Little Bit Of Baja and other tough older horses," Kelly said. "Then if we make it to the Champion of Champions we would have to face Freaky and Jess You And I. Why do that when you have a purse of some of $200,000 up for grabs in the Southern California Derby?"

Pazazz Quarterhorses' Mr B, a full brother to 2000 World Champion A Ransom earned $3,125 for running third. Making Choices finished fourth and was followed by Heza Hot Habit, Igreedycuzisepertist, and A Tempting Dash.

-30-