Page 172 - January 2021

RACING NEWS
Southern California Derby-G2
NOMADIC
by Tracy Gantz
Scott Willoughby closed out 2020 by taking his first-ever Los Alamitos training title, helped in part by Nomadic’s victory in the $154,550 Southern California Derby-G2 on Dec. 20. Willoughby gave much of the credit to the fact that he trains horses for Dr. Ed Allred.
“It’s 15 years training Doc Allred’s horses this week,” said Willoughby. “And this is one of our best years. We’ve had a great year across the board. The Derby horses have
done great.”
Bred and owned by Allred, Nomadic ran second in his Nov. 29 Southern California Derby trial after rearing just before the start. Nevertheless, he qualified the fourth fastest. Oscar Andrade Jr. rode him in both the trial and the final, and Nomadic went off as the 8-5 favorite.
Drawing the outside post, Nomadic got away quickly
Charger Bar Handicap-G1
KISS THRU FIRE
by Tracy Gantz
Kiss Thru Fire picked the perfect time to get her first career stakes victory, and a Grade 1 at that. She is due to take a break from racing
for embryo transfers, and her win in $100,000 Charger Bar Handicap-G1 at Los Alamitos on Jan. 3 will certainly enhance the subsequent foals’ catalog pages.
Drawn into 6-post with jockey Raul Valenzuela aboard, Kiss Thru Fire went off as a 4-1 third choice. She came out of the gate per- fectly and immediately vied
for the lead in the 400-yard
Charger Bar. Three horses to
her inside dueled with her,
but approaching the wire Kiss
Thru Fire got the better of
them to win by a 1/2-length.
Her time of :19.622 earned
her a 114 speed index.
Juan Aleman trains Kiss Thru Fire for Robert Kirk Gentry’s Gentry Farms, which bred her in Kentucky. Kiss Thru Fire in 2020 ran
from the gate, but not as fast as Kiss Thru Fire, who flew to the lead. Nomadic never gave up, however, catching the filly at the wire to win by a neck in :19.678.
“When we got the outside post, I wasn’t sure how I felt about that because he’s run great on the rail and has had his best races from there,” said Andrade. “I knew I had to hustle him and keep going because you can’t lose track in these races.
It was a good battle between us. “He had a bad break in the Super Derby,” the jockey con-
tinued. “The trials really helped him. He needed that race, and it prepared him for this race. He just kept rolling through.”
Willoughby admitted
he wasn’t sure Nomadic was going to catch Kiss Thru Fire.
“Nomadic dug in, ran a great race,” said the trainer. “It tops off a heck of a year. This is my first trainer’s award—it’s
my first leading trainer ever anywhere. It’s spe- cial. Los Alamitos has been a great home for me.”
Allred bred Nomadic out of stakes winner Moonlight Corona. She has produced 14 win- ners in 18 starters.
Kiss Thru Fire (Walk Thru Fire-Fredaville), bred and owned by Gentry Farms, finished second under Armando Cervantes for trainer Juan Aleman. Martha Wells’ homebred Old School Icon (Texas Icon-Cozie Fire) ran third under jockey Luis Valenzuela for Matthew Fales. Completing the field were Runforyourlife (Favorite Cartel-Remember Me Rose), Cattail Cove (Favorite Cartel-Katie Katella), Circle City (Favorite Cartel-Moonlight Corona), Up For Speed (Favorite Cartel-Up For It), Just Be Real (Walk Thru Fire-Realistically) and Southern Wagon (PYC Paint Your Wagon-Marys Southernpolicy). Mental Error was scratched.
New Mexico Fillies & Mares Championship Stakes-G1 and Lou Wooten and Sydney Valentini Handicap-G2.
Aleman also trains third-place Curls Happy Wagon (PYC Paint Your Wagon-Eye A Spit Curl Girl), a homebred for Michael Pohl and Martin Stacy. Armando Cervantes piloted the 6-year-old mare, whose five stakes victories include the 2020 Mildred N. Vessels Memorial Handicap-G1.
Completing the field were Hotsempting (Tempting Dash-Pandorum), One Sweet Change (One Sweet Jess-Echo Boomer), Terra Fire (Walk Thru Fire-Terrific Energy), JR Prissys Blood (Apollitical Blood-Prissy B Panther), Jess B Glory (Mr Jess Perry-Glory Rider), Galloping Goddess (One Sweet Jess- Ingrate Queen) and Tequila Sangria (Favorite Cartel-Ynot Bar).
second in the Southern California Derby-G2 and Los Alamitos Oaks-G3.
“This was a tough field, and she was one of the tough ones in there,” said Aleman. “She finally got the Grade 1 under belt. She has been trying and trying. She has a lot of guts and a lot of heart.”
Gentry Farms bred Kiss Thru Fire out of Fredaville, the Champion Aged Mare of 2012 and a multiple graded stakes winner. Fredaville,
a full sister to Champion Fredricksburg, has produced five winners from six starters including Mexico stakes win- ner Beer Wagon and stakes- placed Kiss My Heineken.
Jimmy Negrete and Jimmy Vasquez’s homebred Cat Daddys Lil Girl (Big Daddy Cartel-Girlonthego) fin-
ished second. Oscar Peinado rode the 5-year-old mare for trainer Jaime Gomez. Cat Daddys Lil Girl won the 2020
170 SPEEDHORSE January 2021
Los Alamitos
$154,550 • 400 yards :19.678 • si 95
Favorite TB
Favorite Cartel
Shenoshercorona
NOMADIC, ‘17-g.
Corona Cartel
Moonlight Corona
Moon Arisen
Los Alamitos
$100,000 • 400 yards :19.622 • si 114
First Down Dash
Walk Thru Fire
Sweet Beduino
KISS THRU FIRE, ‘17-f. Mr Jess Perry
Fredaville
Fearless Freda
Los Alamitos Los Alamitos