AT 27-1 ODDS, ONE SWEET DUCK SURPRISES FIELD IN LA PACIFICA HANDICAP
Sent off as the longest shot on the board at 27-1, Lex Fabrizio’s One Sweet Duck was the surprise winner of the $30,000 La Pacifica Handicap after breaking sharply from post number one and outlasting 2022 Firecracker Futurity winner AJ Run For Cash by a head on Saturday night at Los Alamitos.
One Sweet Duck spearheaded one of the biggest trifecta payouts of the season, as runner-up AJ Run For Cash was the third longest shot at 15-1, while third place finisher Forever Dynasty was the fourth longest at 14-1. The trifecta in this race paid a season high sum of $5,580.50.
Ridden by Armando Viramontes for trainer Monty Arrossa, One Sweet Duck covered the 350-yard distance in :17.766. The filly by One Sweet Jess also gave Viramontes his first stakes victory at Los Alamitos and second stakes win of his career. Viramontes, who celebrated his 21st birthday last week, previously piloted the Leonel Gonzalez-trained You Cant Drive 95 to a ¾ length win in the $40,000 Desert Classic Futurity at Turf Paradise on April 29.
“I’m blessed to win both of these races,” Viramontes said. “(One Sweet Duck) is an amazing filly and an amazing filly that I rode last week too. I thank the owners and I thank Monty for giving me this chance.”
One Sweet Duck has won five of 11 career starts and has earned $67,258 in the process. She picked up $19,250 for conquering the La Pacifica. The Fabrizio-bred filly is out of the multiple stakes winning mare Duck Dash N Go, who won 18 races in her career and over $163,000.
Fabrizio purchased Duck Dash N Go after her sophomore campaign. A graded stakes winning mare, Duck Dash N Go was known for her blazing speed and ability to shine in distances up to 350 yards. Arrossa trained Duck Dash N Go and helped put the deal together that led to Fabrizio acquiring the mare. One Sweet Duck is the first daughter of Duck Dash N Go.
“I figured she would get (a stakes) win eventually, but I certainly didn’t expect it to be tonight,” Fabrizio said. “One Sweet Duck reminds me a lot of her mother. She doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. She tries hard every time.”
One Sweet Duck is eligible to run in the Adequan Derby trials and the PCQHRA Breeders Derby trials.
Boardshort Stables’ AJ Run For Cash earned $7,875 for her second place finish for trainer Juan Aleman and jockey Adrian Loza. Jeryl Hartley’s Forever Dynasty earned $4,375 for running third. Quirky Bitty Jess, Remember Her, Wise Lady Dawn, Valiantli, Mid Knight Flash, and Jessica Cruz completed the field.
-30-