Page 143 - December 2017

Los Alamitos $2 Million Futurity-G1
J FIRE UP
by Tracy Gantz • photos by Los Alamitos & Susan Bachelor
When trainer Jaime Gomez wins the big- gest futurity at Los Alamitos, breeders should take note. The first time he captured what was then called the Los Alamitos Million Futurity, in 1996, he did it with Corona Cartel, who went on to become an outstand- ing sire.
In 2017, Gomez won what is now called the Los Alamitos $2 Million Futurity-G1 with
J Fire Up, a granddaughter of Corona Cartel. If she follows in Corona Cartel’s footsteps, she will become a superstar broodmare.
“J Fire Up has never made a mistake,” said Gomez. “She breaks like a bullet all the time. She just goes out there and runs her race every time. She came out of the gates like a rabbit.”
Indeed, J Fire Up’s start in the $2 Million Futurity on Dec. 17 almost guaranteed her the victory. As the 19-10 favorite and with regular rider Jose Nicasio aboard, she flew to the front immedi- ately, building up such an impressive lead that her nine rivals could only try to play catch-up.
They never succeeded, as J Fire Up held onto a 1 1/4-length advantage through the last half of the 400 yards. She stopped the timer in :19.753. Moonie Blues, also trained by Gomez, finished second.
Gomez bred J Fire Up in California from the Walk Thru Fire mare This Boogie Fires, and he owns J Fire Up with Darling Farms and Ernesto Solis. The filly has now won seven of nine starts with
two seconds. Previously,
she captured the Golden
State Million Futurity-G1
and Governor’s Cup
Futurity-RG2, and she
finished second in the Ed
Burke Million Futurity-G1.
She and All American
Derby-G1 winner Hold
Air Hostage gave Darling
Farms an excellent 2017.
“We’ve just been blessed
so much this year, so much
more than we deserve
between her and Hold Air Hostage,” said Dan Darling. “She’s solid; she comes back. After the trials, Jaime told me that we could have run her the next day. I attribute half of it to the horse and half to Jaime. Jaime is a super trainer.”
Darling had to work to convince Gomez to sell him half of J Fire Up, explaining, “He
tried to sell me one of the high-dollar ones, but I told him, ‘No, I want that one.’ I liked the way she was built. She had these shoulders. I like big horses—real big horses—and I just
loved the way she moved.” Gomez said that he tried
to sell J Fire Up “to every- body,” and bought her back for $25,000 at the 2016 Los Alamitos Equine Sale.
“This guy Dan Darling, though, he’s like a lucky charm,” said Gomez. “Everything he touches turns to gold. He’s a super nice guy. He came up to me, and he wanted to buy horses. He liked the filly, and I said, ‘Give me $20,000 and you
can own half.’ That was the deal of his life.” J Fire Up has now earned a total of
$1,430,411.
Gomez’s other partner, Solis, has
worked for Gomez at the trainer’s ranch in Murrieta, California, for 23 years. Gomez said that he often gives Solis a half-interest in the young horses.
Los Alamitos $1,703,450 • 400 yards :19.753 • si 92
Corona Cartel
Kiddy Up
Miss Racy Vike
J FIRE UP, ’15-f.
Walk Thru Fire
This Boogie Fires
Boogie Special
J Fire Up & Jose Nicaso go wire-to-wire in the Los Alamitos $2 Million Futurity
SPEEDHORSE, December 2017 141
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