WATCH OUT EARNS FIRST STAKES WIN AFTER CLOSING STRONG IN DILLINGHAM HANDICAP

        Ed Allred’s Watch Out scored his first stakes victory thanks to a sharp start and a perfect finish while outrunning Grade 2 winner Favorite Honey in the $35,000 Dillingham Handicap for 3-year-olds on Saturday at Los Alamitos.

          Ridden by Oscar Peinado, Watch Out was first out of the gate but trailed Favorite Honey during the first half of the 400-yard dash. However, the son of Fly Thru The Fire was close enough to Favorite Honey that his powerful late kick allowed him to make up the ground. About 300 yards into the race, Watch Out had taken the lead and there was no looking back from there, as he went on to a ½ length victory in a time of :19.854. The Allred-bred runner earned $19,250 for the win to take his career earnings over the $200,000 barrier. Now a winner in five of his 10 starts, the three-time graded stakes finalist has now bankrolled $214,945 in his career.

          “It looked like he got away really good today,” said trainer James Glenn, Jr. “It looked like he hanging halfway through there and was making me nervous, but then he kicked back in and got by (Favorite Honey). The farther (Watch Out) goes, the better he goes. His dam (Look Her Over) is a good mare. All her babies seemed to want to go down the track.”

          The third stakes winner sired by Fly Thru The Fire, Watch Out joins 2021 Freshman Stakes for Fillies winner Race Thru The Fire and Prairie Meadows Juvenile Challenge Stakes winner Fly Donna Fly as stakes winner for their sire. Watch Out’s dam is the mother of 2019 AQHA World Champion He Looks Hot and the multiple Grade 1 winner Once Over. In addition to this victory, Watch Out ran second to Allred’s She Goes Up in the Governor’s Cup Futurity and qualified to the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity and Grade 2 El Primero Del Año Derby.  His last start prior to the Dillingham was the El Primero, a race in which he encountered some trouble early on.

          “A horse came from nowhere and clobbered him halfway down through there,” Glenn said. “It was a tough race. It was a salty group of runners. He got his heart pumped back up in this race.”

          Watch Out’s next start will come in the trials to the Governor’s Cup Derby on Sunday, July 10.

          Racing for Five Livestock Company and Steve Wright, Favorite Honey had a great start before lugging out from post number one in the second half of the race. Ridden by Jesus Rios Ayala for trainer Monty Arrossa, Favorite Honey finished a half-length ahead of third place finisher All Ways. The gelding by Favorite Cartel earned $7,875 to take his career earnings to $280,088. Favorite Honey won the Grade  2 PCQHRA Breeders Futurity last year and – just like Watch Out – he also qualified to the Governor’s Cup Futurity, Two Million and El Primero.

          Boardshorts Stables’ All Ways earned $4,375 for running third for trainer Juan Aleman and jockey Ramon Sanchez. All Ways, a gelding by Fly Thru The Fire, has finished in the money in nine of 11 career starts. Cactus Jack, Vamoosing, Extreme Reasons, Insider Information, and Look Up completed the field.

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