Page 170 - Speedhorse March 2019

Los Alamitos Winter Derby-G1
POWERFUL FAVORITE
by Tracy Gantz
Powerful Favorite excels at living up to his name. In 11 starts now, he has gone off as the favorite five times. He won four and
finished second once by just a nose. His most recent name-duplicating performance came in the $198,700 Los Alamitos Winter Derby-G1 on Feb. 9.
“Once he starts going, that horse sees dollar signs,” said Christopher O’Dell, who trains Powerful Favorite for Rosenthal Ranch LLC. “When he gets down at the end of the race, he kicks it into gear.”
O’Dell qualified Powerful Favorite and Terrific First Down to the Los Alamitos Winter Derby. Jockey Eduardo Nicasio had ridden both of them in every one of their races, and
he opted for fastest-qualifier Powerful Favorite, who won his trial heat wire-to-wire by a full length after being bumped on both sides.
“He had me a little nervous because this horse has a strong temperament,” said Nicasio. “He was calm, but he always keeps me on
my toes. He didn’t fly out of there, but he finished great.”
Powerful Favorite broke second in the 400- yard Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby finals. He immediately forged to the front and kept
widening his advantage. At the wire, Powerful Favorite scored a 1 1/4-length victory, stopping the timer in :19.774 and posting a 92 speed index.
“He got a decent start and didn’t get bumped around,” stated his conditioner O’Dell. “That’s a big deal.”
Nicasio said he has always liked Powerful Favorite.
“He felt great as he was
pulling away from the rest,”
said the rider. “Chris is doing a great job with him. It’s a good team.”
That team not only consists of O’Dell and Nicasio, but also O’Dell’s assistant, Adalberto “Maloso” Aceves, and John Firth, who broke Powerful Favorite. O’Dell gave Nicasio much of the credit, saying the jockey spent plenty of time with the gelding.
“This horse was terrible in the gates,” said O’Dell. “Even the first time he ever ran, he threw some fits in the gate. We put our heads together and came up with the flipping halter. We’ve had good luck with that.”
But perhaps the most important team
member is owner Connie Rosenthal. O’Dell said that if she hadn’t bid on Powerful Favorite at the 2017 Los Alamitos Equine Sale, they wouldn’t have gotten the horse. Connie’s late hus- band, Bob, wanted Powerful Favorite, but felt he was too expensive.
“She doesn’t like to talk about it, but she’s the one that raised her hand during the
bidding and bought him,” stated O’Dell. “The Rosenthals paid $90,000 for this horse. That’s a nice chunk of money.”
Connie in turn praised the team.
“Chris has done a wonderful job with him,” she said. “John Firth did a fabulous job break- ing him, and he said all along that he was going to be a good horse. This is what we hoped for, and to have it be a reality, it’s just a blessing.”
About two weeks earlier, Rosenthal Ranch received the Frank Vessels Sr. Memorial Award for contributions to Quarter Horse racing
at the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association banquet.
Los Alamitos $198,700 • 400 yards :19.774 • si 92
Favorite Trick TB
Favorite Cartel
Shenoshercorona
POWERFUL FAVORITE, ‘16-g.
Corona Cartel
Remember Me Rose
Im Moonlighting
166 SPEEDHORSE, March 2019
Powerful Favorite & Eduardo Nicasio win the $198,700 Los Alamitos Winter Derby-G1 by 1 1/4-lengths.
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