PAUL JONES UNVEILS TOP JUVENILES IN FIRST MORNING OF GATE WORKS 

         The gate workouts for 2-year-old Quarter Horses started at Los Alamitos Race Course on Saturday morning with 15 juveniles posting their first of two official drills required prior to making their first ever career start. Twelve of the 15 young runners came from the barn of trainer Paul Jones with many of them boasting outstanding breeding lines.

          The morning’s bullet work went to Jimmy Harrell and Thompson Racing LLC’s Griffindore (left), a colt bred in Utah by McColee Land & Livestock Llc. Sired by Corona Cartel and out of the First Down Dash mare Little Surfer, Griffindore covered the 220 yards in :12.4 to win his drill. Purchased for $128,000 at the Heritage Place Yearling Sale, Griffindore is a full-brother to Uncle D, the winner of the 2019 Rainbow Futurity, and Call Me Cole, the third place finisher in the 2017 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity. Uncle D earned $689,165 in his racing career that also included a win in the $200,000 All American Juvenile and a runner-up effort in the Heritage Place Futurity. Call Me Cole, meanwhile, also competed in the Golden State Million Futurity and Los Alamitos Super Derby. Their dam, Little Surfer, was a stakes winner of the $100,000 Hialeah Park Derby and a finalist to the La Primera Del Año Derby. Out of the great mare Runaway Wave, Little Surfer is a full-sister to AQHA champions Wave Carver, the 2016 world champion, and Ocean Runaway.

          Griffindore highlighted Paul Jones’ workers on Saturday morning, but he was just one of many royally bred sprinters. Jones also sent Jess Hez on Fire to a :12.6 morning work for owners Connie Nutt and Turner Farms. The Texas-bred colt by Walk Thru Fire is out of Jess Send Me, the runner-up in the 2011 All American Futurity. Jess Send Me is the dam of Jess Macho Corona, a winner of $670,498 during his tremendous racing career. Sired by Corona Cartel, Jess Macho Corona won the 2020 First Down Dash Handicap and has also posted runner-up efforts in the 2018 Golden State Million Futurity, 2019 All American Derby, and 2020 Vessels Maturity – all Grade 1 stakes races.

          Also from Jones’ racing stable was Majority Interest, who posted a time of :12.8 for Bradbury Racing, Robyn Gordon, Jimmy Harrel and Thompson Racing. The Seperate Interest filly (left) is out of Remember Me Rose, an AQHA Dam of Distinction. Majority Interest is a half-sister to Grade 1 winners Powerful Interest, Runforyourlife, and Cyber Monday.   

          Here are some of the other trainees from Jones’ barn that worked on Saturday:

• Stel Favorite (c, Stel Corona out of Favorite Kiss) :12.6 – Worked evenly with Jess Hez On Fire. Favorite Kiss won four races and $53,315 in her racing career. A pair of her wins came in the trials to the Los Alamitos Two Million and Golden State Million. She qualified to the 2015 Golden State Million.
•  Devils Torture (c, Favorite Cartel out of Dont Pass Bar) :12.7 – Was an easy winner in his morning work. He’s a half-brother to multiple Grade 1 winner Quirky, the AQHA champion aged mare in 2015.
• Commander Cartel (c, Corona Cartel out of Scoop Of Sunshine) :13.2 – Worked with Devils Torture. His dam was the 2013 Governor’s Cup Derby winner. She earned $200,224 in her career, while running third in the Southern California Derby and fourth in the Los Alamitos Super Derby.
• First Painted Candy (f, Jess Good Candy out of First Painted Sign) :13.2 – Won her drill while racing the outside post. Her dam is one of Quarter Horse racing’s top producers and a star performer for the Mixer Ranch. On the racetrack, First Painted Sign earned $284,911 and won the Grade 1 Speedhorse Gold & Silver and the Oklahoma Futurity. On the breeding shed, First Painted Sign produced the millionaire First Valiant Sign ($1,053,844), the winner of the 2015 Ruidoso Futurity and 2016 Texas Classic Derby. First Valiant Sign was fourth in the All American Futurity and second in the Rainbow Futurity. Other runners out of First Painted Sign include A Tres Of Paint ($509,184) and Apollitical Sign ($138,173). A Tres Of Paint is a Restricted Grade 3 winner who also finished second in the 2015 Heritage Place Futurity and fourth in the Texas Classic Futurity, while Apollitical Sign won the Hobbs America Derby and qualified to the Grade 3 West Texas Derby.

Saturday morning also saw a pair of juveniles from the barn of trainer Jaime Gomez led by the Carlos Lopez-owned Lethal Blood, who is by Apollitical Blood, and Legacy Ranch’s Gonna Make Pie, a Terry Knight-trained Corona Cartel colt out of Play Your Card. She is also the dam of winners Baltas Babe and Fredericos Fantasy after winning three races and $44,282 in earnings on the racetrack.

          Gate works of 2-year-olds are now available at LosAlamitos.com.  

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