Page 34 - February_2023

TRACK CHATTER
CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS
by Jennifer K. Hancock
Empressum scores a 1 1/4-length victory in the $750,000 Grade 1 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos on Dec. 10, 2022.
The 50th running of the Champion of Champions featured the richest field in the history of Quarter Horse racing and was one of the major highlights of the 2022-night meet at Los Alamitos, which closed Dec. 17. The Champion of Champions also set a record for most money wagered in the race in its history and Empressum’s win was the fourth fastest in the event’s history.
John Cooper, the fourth all-time leading Quarter Horse trainer at Los Alamitos, retired following a successful training career that spanned more than 50 years after saddling Boondarbian in the Grade 2 Southern California Derby on closing night.
Handle on the Los Alamitos live program plus its night simulcast imports for the 100 racing nights topped the $150 million mark. Los Alamitos hosted 100 live racing programs during the course of the 2022 season.
Jose Flores, the third all-time leading trainer at Los Alamitos Race Course, won the first Quarter Horse training title of his career after saddling 58 winners from 372 starters. For Flores, winning the title was highly rewarding
after more than 20 years working toward achieving the goal.
Flores, whose record includes two Champion of Champions wins and two Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity wins, has perennially ranked in the top three in the Quarter Horse trainer standings. His 1,547 Quarter Horse wins place him only behind Blane Schvaneveldt and Paul Jones in the all-time list here.
“I’m very proud and so happy to have won the title, mainly because it came against this great group of trainers stabled at Los Alamitos,” Flores said. “I have tremendous respect for
the Quarter Horse trainers I compete against because I feel we have the best group of them
in the country. I’ve finished in the top three something like 17 or 18 times during my career. It’s an honor to be the leader and to do it against this trainer colony makes it even more worthwhile. I have a lot of respect for my fellow trainers, but we are rivals when our horses are facing each other on the track.
“I must thank Dr. Ed Allred as well because of everything that he does for Los Alamitos Race Course,” Flores added. “He keeps this
place going and does so much to support the Quarter Horse racing industry. Los Alamitos
is my home. This is where I started my career, and I want to be here forever. My father has been here with me from the start and of course my wife and children, who have always been there to lift me up after I’ve had a rough day at the track. There are so many people involved to help you accomplish something like this. I am blessed and very thankful.”
Ed Allred won the Quarter Horse owner
title after picking up 69 wins from 416 starters. Campaigning Grade 1 winners Cyber Attack and Bomb Cyclone, Rosenthal Ranch led Quarter Horse owners in earnings with $1,466,893.
Jesus Rios Ayala garnered his fifth Quarter Horse riding title in the last six years after winning 65 races. For the second straight year, Eduardo Nicasio led all Quarter Horse riders in earnings with $1,776,008.
The 73rd year of racing at Los Alamitos opened New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31. Live racing will be conducted on Saturday and Sunday nights. For the latest information on Los Al, visit www.losalamitos.com.
32 SPEEDHORSE February 2023
Amber Mendez, Los Alamitos