Page 148 - Speedhorse June 2019

Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity-G2
CHAYITO CARTEL
by Tracy Gantz
J. Francisco Diaz began racing horses in the late 1990s, and when his son, Lindolfo, turned 18, he began working his father’s horses at Francisco’s farm.
“It’s a little ranch in San Diego,” said Lindolfo.
The young man, now 31, moved up to working for trainer Jose Flores.
“I was Jose’s assistant,” said Lindolfo. “I learned a lot from him. He was my teacher, my mentor.”
Ultimately, Lindolfo wanted to train horses on his own, especially for his father, who had given him so many opportunities.
They had the biggest night of their lives in racing on May 19 when Chayito Cartel won the $361,700 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity-G2 at Los Alamitos.
Lindolfo trained the gelding, a homebred for his dad.
Jesus Ayala has ridden Chayito Cartel in all three of his races.
Chayito Cartel broke his maiden in his debut at Los Alamitos on April 19.
He returned for the Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity trials on May 5, smok- ing the competition in a wire-to-wire perfor- mance. Chayito Cartel finished 1 1/4-lengths in front of his nearest competitor and he scored the fastest qualifying time of :15.444.
“He worked :12.5 the first time and didn’t break that sharp,” said Lindolfo.
“He came back and caught the other horse. He impressed me right there. I told my dad, ‘We might have something here, so let’s make that double payment for the Kindergarten.’ Luckily, we had enough time to make the double.”
That turned out to be
a wise move. In the Robert
Adair Kindergarten Futurity-G2 finals, Chayito Cartel broke in second and immedi- ately went to the front.
The gelding held off all challengers in a blanket finish to win by a neck in :15.430 for 300 yards.
“Chayito Cartel finished nicely,” said Lindolfo. “I knew it would be a tough race. I thought we had a shot. All I wanted was a clean race. We got a decent start, a great ride, and I’m just happy for my dad.”
Francisco Diaz has raced the likes of Running Bac, winner of the 2002 Mildred N. Vessels Memorial Handicap-G1 and several other stakes. Before his son began training,
Diaz had horses with trainers Charles Treece, Juan Aleman, and Jose Flores.
“I’m very proud of my son,” said Francisco. “He’s doing things well with the horses. I’m proud that he followed this career path because this is a sport that I’ve always loved.
“When he was a young boy, I would take him to the ranch with me and eventu-
ally bought him a horse,” Francisco continued about his son.
“I would have him sit on the horse, and I would lead them around just for fun.”
When he was in high school, Lindolfo would get up at 5 a.m. to be with the horses before heading to class.
Lindolfo said he currently has 13 horses in training, and his father has six at the track.
“After he finished high school, he told me that he wanted to keep working with the horses,” stated Francisco. “I told him that
I would give him my support as much as I could. Now here we are. I’m very happy for him and this night.”
Los Alamitos $361,700 • 300 yards :15.430 • si 94
Favorite Trick TB
Favorite Cartel
Shenoshercorona
CHAYITO CARTEL, ‘17-g.
Dash Thru Traffic
Runnin In Traffic
Chrome Tapestry
146 SPEEDHORSE, June 2019
Chayito Cartel & Jesus Ayala win the $361,700 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity-G2 by a neck.
RACING NEWS
Los Alamitos