As part of the Derby qualifying series, the Los Alamitos Futurity awards Derby points to the top four finishers on a 10-4-2-1 scale. Trainer Bob Baffert has won the race the past three years, and six times in the past 10 years, and he comes in again with a strong pair.
Getting the nod as the slight favorite in the morning line odds is McKinzie (6-5) who made his one and only lifetime start a winning one, taking a seven furlong maiden special weight event at Santa Anita in late October. There he ran behind a quick early pace and then went four-wide on the turn to close on the leader, taking over at the head of the stretch and then pulling away to win by more than four lengths.
The second of Baffert's two entries is also the second choice in the morning line. Solomini (7-5) has more experience than his stable mate, with three starts to his name, the last two of those in Grade 1 stakes. After scoring his maiden win first time out, he ran second in the (G1) Frontrunner Stakes behind the highly regarded Bolt d'Oro, and then second again as a 10-1 long shot in the 2017 Breeeder's Cup Juvenile, a race that he led into the stretch.
Of the non-Baffert runners, Runaway Ghost (8-1) comes in off a stakes win, after he took the Golden Nugget Stakes on the all-weather track at Golden Gate Fields by more than seven lengths. It was his second consecutive win after he broke his maiden in his third lifetime start on the dirt at Santa Anita. He has lots of early speed to get involved in the pace setup, but this will mark his first time trying a distance beyond six furlongs.
Breaking from the inside gate is Instilled Regard (4-1) who has been in the money in all three of his career starts, and who got his maiden win last time out going 1 1/16 miles on the Santa Anita dirt. For him the distance won't be a problem, but he's probably going to have to be faster to make an impact, as the final time for that race was relatively slow.
Rounding out the field is Maryland-bred For Him (15-1) who tried stakes company for the first time in his last race, where he ran fourth in the Zuma Beach Stakes at Santa Anita. He has one win to his credit in four lifetime starts.
The Los Alamitos Futurity goes Saturday, December 9 from Los Alamitos Race Track in Los Alamitos, California. It's race #3 of a nine-race card that also includes the (G1) Starlet Stakes for two-year-old fillies. Expected post time is 1:28 PM Pacific.
Entries w/ ML Odds
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