Thats R Best Card (photo), Constituent and Cartels Legacy each posted hard-fought victories during their respective 2-year-old debuts on Friday night at Los Alamitos.
Ridden by Oscar Peinado for trainer and breeder Jaime Gomez, Thats R Best Card caught the 6-5 favorite Kindly Cartel in the final yards to win the fifth race by a nose. Owned by Gomez in partnership with Juan Chavez and Juan Humberto Moya, Thats R Best Card covered the 300-yard dash in :15.716 as the 5-2 second choice in the wagering. The gelding by Docs Best Card is out of the Chicks A Blazin mare Thatsa Blazin Chick. He is a half-brother to Fires Blazin, who finished second to champion One Dashing Eagle in the 2012 Grade I Ed Burke Million Futurity.
“Thats R Best Card is a good one,” Gomez said. “He stumbled at the start but finished strong. He’s in all the big races at Los Alamitos. He’ll be in Ed Burke trials (on June 7).”
For Peinado, he has now won nine races from 23 mounts aboard a 2-year-old this season. He also had early success teaming up with trainer Mike Robbins and his juveniles in early April and just last Sunday he piloted La Jaconde and PYC Powerglide to win their trials to the Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity. They both also advanced to the Grade II Kindergarten final to be held here next Sunday night.
M & G Farms’ Constituent, the 9-5 favorite in the seventh race, held off a strong finish from High Rock Teller to win by a nose. With Ruben Lozano up for trainer Valentin Zamudio, the colt by Separate Interest covered the distance in :15.759. Bred by Steve Burns, Constituent is out of the Hawkinson mare Tahma Hawk, who is the dam of (GI) Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity finalist and (GII) Hobbs America Futurity runner-up Sacred Nation, (GI) All American Futurity finalist Crooked Path and multiple Grade III winner Oldsmobile Hill.
“This horse just keeps improving,” Zamudio said. “He would surprise me each time he worked. He’s a smart horse. He learns things quickly and has a great mind. He broke nicely. Lozano said that when he found himself on the lead that he was acting like if this was a 220-yard workout. He started slowing down. Lozano had to push him a little bit and that’s when the horse took off again. I’m looking forward to seeing what he will do next.”
Owned by Dennis Jensen and trained by Monty Arrossa, Cartels Legacy won the third race for fillies by a neck over Arden Sue Floyd Family Trust’s Danjerous. Ridden by Armando Cervantes, the Favorite Cartel filly covered the distance in :15.806. Her dam is Apollitical Legacy, who won the Golden State Juvenile here in 2014.
-30-