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Political Rivalry’s winning connections include owner Keith Nellesen, trainer Heath Taylor and jockey Rodrigo Vallejo.
for the Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity-G2, and his Ed Burke Futurity trial. Political Rivalry qualified the fastest for the Ed Burke.
Favored at 3-2 in the final, Political Rivalry broke from the outside. Though he drifted out, he still grabbed the lead out of the gates under jockey Rodrigo Vallejo. The gelding battled with Rockin With Energy and edged that rival for a wire-to-wire run, winning by a neck in :17.633 for 350 yards.
“He got a little hot,” Taylor said after the race. “He got stirred up. I think we need to back off just a little bit, maybe freshen him up, do some schooling in the paddock, and let his mind slow down a little bit.”
Taylor noted that Political Rivalry is paid into many of the major futurities and 2024 derbies at Los Alamitos.
“At one time we thought if he won something like this, maybe we would take the horse to the All American,” Taylor said. “As much as you’d like to win the All American, you have to go with what your horse is telling you. I think that option is open, but more likely he’ll stay here for the fall races.”
Robinson accepted the trophy for Nellesen, who was in Perry, Georgia, watching his daughter Preslee compete in the National Junior High Rodeo Finals in barrel racing.
“Keith wishes he was here,” said Robinson. “A herd of wild horses couldn’t keep him away on a night like this, but his little daughter could. He’s a good rodeo daddy, and he needs to be there with his daughter.”
Robinson also talked about the importance of the race to KVN Corona’s stallion career.
“This means a lot—I don’t know if I can put it into words how much it means,” he stated. “We’ve always believed in KVN Corona. We’ve pretty much bred all our mares to him. We’ve supported him from day one when he went to stud. We think he has such terrific-looking babies.”
Nellesen named KVN Corona for Kyle Van Noy, a good family friend and a professional football player. The stallion stands at Lazy E Ranch in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
Political Rivalry is out of Apolitical Zoom, who won the 2015 Las Damas Handicap-G3 and 2016 Wild Honey Handicap, both at Los Alamitos. The mare
has produced four starters, all winners, including Mexican stakes winner Zoom Is All I Do, also bred by McColee Land & Livestock. Political Rivalry’s third dam is Champion AB What A Runner.
Paul Jones trains second-place Rockin With Energy (Parsons Rock-Terrific Energy), ridden by Irving Lara, and third- place Kevins Wise Corona (KVN Corona- Another Wise Lady), ridden by Henry Lopez. Bred and owned by the Parsons Family Limited Partnership, Rockin With Energy ran second in a maiden race and then won her trial. Kevins Wise Corona races for Parsons Ranch and had won both of his starts. He was the second-fastest Ed Burke Futurity qualifier.
Completing the field were HRH Royal Cartel (Corona Cartel-A Goddess Thru Fire), Hot Prodigy (Apollitical Jess-Pandorum), Seperate Heart (Seperate Interest-Heartbeat), Change Happens (Favorite Cartel-Make Over), and Heza Good Reason (Good Reason SA-Dasha Freda). Stanley Cartel & Talk Bout Somethin were scratched.
RACING NEWS
SPEEDHORSE July 2023 147
William Zuazo - Los Alamitos