Page 148 - Speedhorse March 2018

Los Alamitos Winter Derby-G1
JESS MY KISS
by Tracy Gantz
Mark and Peggy Brown’s love for their broodmare Dreaming Of Kisses and her offspring resulted in their first Grade 1 win
when Jess My Kiss captured the $215,450 Los Alamitos Winter Derby-G1 on Feb. 10.
Jess My Kiss went off at 24-1 in the 400- yard Los Alamitos Winter Derby.
With Cesar DeAlba aboard, the brown geld- ing broke in third from the four-post. At about the halfway mark, Jess My Kiss took over the lead and tenaciously held on in a close four-way finish.
Jess My Kiss scored by a neck in :19.715 for a career high 94 speed index. The $90,489 winner’s share of the purse boosted his total lifetime earn- ings to $185,102. His record now stands at 2(1)- 2-2 from 10 career starts. He was a finalist in last year’s $960,000 Ed Burke Million Futurity-G1.
The Browns entered both Dreaming Of Kisses and Jess My Kiss in horse sales. Mark Brown calls Dreaming Of Kisses “our family pet.” When it came down to it, however, the couple decided they couldn’t part with either Dreaming Of Kisses or Jess My Kiss, buying them both back.
“We had Jess My Kiss
in the Los Alamitos Equine
Sale, and we wanted
$20,000 for him,” said Mark
Brown. “We bought him
back for $14,000. He’s one
our homebreds and he’s one
of our babies. We raised him
and his mother. His moth-
er’s dad was also a stakes
winner at Los Alamitos
by the name of Legendary
Dreamer. We raised him,
too. It’s been a long time
that we’ve been breeding these horses.”
Legendary Dreamer, a son of Chicks Beduino, won four races in his career, including the 2004 Jens L. List Jr. Memorial California Breeders Stakes-G3 racing for the Browns. The 2001 stallion was also a finalist in several other stakes events.
Roman Figueroa, a former jockey who rode for the late legendary trainer Blane Schvaneveldt, trains Jess My Kiss.
The Browns have had horses with the Schvaneveldt stable for many years.
Prior to this Los Alamitos Winter Derby victory, Jess My Kiss finished second in his trial heat and qualified fifth to the 2017 Ed Burke Million Futurity-G1. He had a similar venture in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity-G1, finishing second in his trial heat and qualifying with the sixth fastest time to the finals.
The Los Alamitos Winter Derby-G1 is his first stakes victory.
“We’d like to thank the Schvaneveldt fam- ily,” said Peggy Brown. “They’ve done a great job with our horses. They’re like family.”
The Browns hail from American Falls, Idaho.
“A lot of great horsemen have come from the intermountain region,” said Mark. “You can
go back to people like Wayne Charlton, when
Los Alamitos $215,450 • 400 yards :19.715 • si 94
Mr Jess Perry
One Sweet Jess
One Sweet Dash
JESS MY KISS, ‘15-g.
Legendary Dreamer
Dreaming Of Kisses
Go For Kisses
146 SPEEDHORSE, March 2018
Jess My Kiss (#4) and Cesar DeAlba finish strong for a neck victory in the $215,450 Los Alamitos Winter Derby-G1
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