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Finneus, Thirsty Always Among Nominees For King Glorious At Los Alamitos

Finneus and Slow Down Andy, the 1-2 finishers in last month's Golden State Juvenile, and local stakes winner Thirsty Always are among the 2-year-olds nominated to the $100,000 King Glorious Stakes at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif.

A one-mile race restricted to horses bred or sired in California, the King Glorious will be run for the 10th time Sunday, Dec. 12, the final day of the Los Angeles Winter meet.

Owned by a partnership that includes breeder Terry Lovingier and trained by Walther Solis, Finneus rallied from well off the pace to win the Golden State Juvenile by a half-length over favored Slow Down Andy.

A son of Stay Thirsty and the Ghostzapper mare My Fiona, who won the 2014 Soviet Problem Stakes at Los Alamitos, Finneus is 2-for-6 with earnings of $246,366.

Trained by Doug O'Neill, who is seeking his third win in the King Glorious after scoring with Found Money (2015) and Play Chicken (2020), for owner-breeder J.P. Reddam Racing LLC, Slow Down Andy was 11-10 in the Golden State Juvenile on the strength of an easy debut win Oct. 9. The chestnut is a son of Nyquist and the Square Eddie mare Edwina E.

Trained by Solis for a partnership that includes breeder Lovingier, Thirsty Always earned his third win in five starts by taking the Royal Owl Sept. 26 at Los Alamitos. The son of Stay Thirsty and the Not for Love mare Angela's Love has earned $147,600.

The other nominees, in alphabetical order, are Divine Feminine, Fast Draw Munnings, Fowler Blue, Love Candy, Moose Mitchell, Socal Red, So I'm Told, Straight Up G, and Youteyourhonor.

Entries for the King Glorious will be taken Thursday, Dec. 9.

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Thirsty Always Springs Upset In Royal Owl Stakes At Los Alamitos

Thirsty Always upset heavily-favored stablemate Rock N Rye, leading throughout in the $75,000 Royal Owl Stakes, the closing day feature of the Los Angeles County Fair meet at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif.

In his first collaboration with jockey Abel Cedillo, the 2-year-old Stay Thirsty colt out of the Not for Love mare Angela's Love, quickly established command against his four opponents and went on to win by 1 ½ lengths in 1:03.28 for the 5 ½ furlongs.

The 5-1 third choice, he paid $13.00, $3.20, and $2.40. The victory was his third in five starts and pushed his earnings to $147,600 for owners Tom Beckerle, Saul Carrillo, and breeder Terry Lovingier, and trainer Walther Solis.

Rock N Rye, also trained by Solis – as was fifth-place finisher Mr. T's Thirsty – and bred by Lovingier, finished four lengths clear of 18-1 shot Drizella as the 2-5 favorite. He returned $2.20 and $2.10 while the show price on Drizella was $3.40. Carmen Miranda checked in fourth as the 3-1 second choice.

“I was telling (Lovingier) before the race I knew (Rock N Rye) was the favorite, but the way this colt had been acting lately I knew he would give (Rock N Rye) a run for his money,'' said Solis. “When he was able to make the lead, I thought he was gone. He gets brave when he's in front.''

Cedillo said his decision on strategy was made at the start.

“He broke so sharp and (Solis) told me that if he can make the lead to go on with him,'' said Cedillo. “I did and he responded.''

The stakes win was the second of the meet for Cedillo – he had taken the E.B. Johnston via disqualification with Loud Mouth Sept. 11. He wound up the meet's leading rider, giving him his second local title. He also led the standings during the 2020 LACF Winter season.

“It's been great,'' he said. “This is not an easy place to ride because the track is so different and the long stretch, but I got to ride a lot of good horses and they made me look good.''

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After ‘Dog-Fight’ Triumph Over Firenze Fire, Mind Control To Target Forego

Rick Sacco of Red Oak Stable, which owns Mind Control in partnership with Madaket Stables, said the multiple Grade 1-winner was bright eyed and happy on Monday following a redemption victory in Sunday's Grade 2, $250,000 John A. Nerud at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., where he denied horse-for-course Firenze Fire an eighth victory over Big Sandy.

Making his first start for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, the Stay Thirsty bay ended an 0-for-6 slump, battling to the outside of Firenze Fire down the backstretch, ultimately getting the better of his foe by a head. Mind Control, who was reunited with Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, replicated a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure garnered in his previous victory in the Grade 3 Tom Fool in March 2020 at Aqueduct.

Mind Control arrived at the Nerud, a “Win and You're In” qualifier to the Breeders' Cup Sprint in November at Del Mar, off a close seventh in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs on May 1 for his former conditioner Gregg Sacco. Mind Control finished second to Mischevious Alex in his 2021 bow in the Grade 1 Carter on April 3 at the Big A.

Sacco said the seven-furlong Grade 1, $600,000 Forego on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course would likely be the next target. Both of Mind Control's previous Grade 1 scores came in seven-furlong events at the Spa, capturing the 2018 Hopeful and 2019 H. Allen Jerkens.

“The Forego is our plan,” Sacco said. “When the horse was turned over to Todd, I told him that we wanted to point to yesterday's race. I knew that would give him enough time to acclimate to Todd's program.

“He came out of it awesome,” Sacco added. “He jogged super this morning and he was bright eyed, so now he'll ship up to Saratoga, get freshened and they'll get him ready for the Forego.”

Mind Control, bred in Kentucky by Red Oak Stable, is out of the Lightnin N Thunder mare Feel That Fire.

“The win means so much to Red Oak because we own the mare Feel That Fire, and we own her mother [Ubetwereven] as well,” said Sacco. “We have such nice foals out of these two mares in the pipeline, so when Mind Control wins, it means a lot to the operation.”

Sacco said Mind Control encountered considerable barriers during his 2020 campaign, including a couple of sloppy tracks. He was a distant sixth and eighth over off going in the Grade 1 Runhappy Carter and last year's Forego, respectively.

“For him to win after so many losses in a row was great. It was a tough campaign last year,” Sacco said. “You train for so long and hit a couple of sloppy tracks. After the first time he ran in the slop, he disliked it. At Saratoga, it was slop again. Two times in his career, he had really sloppy tracks, but you're always working around the weather and working around getting them in the best possible condition. Last year was very tough. We didn't have the type of campaign we wanted to have.”

Sacco said the post-position draw may have played in favor of Mind Control, who exited post 2 Sunday to the outside of Firenze Fire.

“Todd, John and myself knew that Firenze Fire was going to go from the rail,” said Sacco. “There were others that showed good speed, but not of our quality. Johnny said he wasn't going to let the horse get away from him, and that if we got away clean, we were going to apply the pressure. He's a fighter and he doesn't lose those dog-fight type of races.”

Mind Control has a 2-year-old half-sister by Mineshaft named Goddess of Fire, who also will be trained by Pletcher.

“She breezed this morning at Saratoga in what was her second breeze for Todd,” Sacco said. “She has a good foundation underneath her and is a beautiful filly. Mind Control is a medium sized horse and will make a good stallion prospect. He is very correct and well-balanced. She's a great big filly, so I'm sure Todd will take his time with her.”

Despite the differences in conformation, Sacco said Mind Control and Goddess of Fire both display the same professional demeanor.

“Mind Control is very straight forward. You tack him up, he wants to go do his business and not be fooled around with,” Sacco said. “The family is straightforward in the same manner. The whole time we had her on the farm, she just wanted to train and do her business. Both are very businesslike.”

Feel That Fire has a yearling by Candy Ride and is currently in foal to Uncle Mo.

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Mischevious Alex, Mind Control Meet In Aqueduct’s Carter Handicap

Cash is King and LC Racing's Mischevious Alex will look to break through at the highest level in Saturday's Grade 1, $300,000 Carter Handicap, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y.

The historic Carter is the first Grade 1 of 2021 on the NYRA circuit as part of a loaded five-stakes card headlined by the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino, offering 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

Also featured Saturday are a trio of Grade 3 stakes, including the $250,000 Gazelle at nine furlongs for sophomore fillies offering 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points; the $200,000 Bay Shore, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomores; and the $150,000 Excelsior at nine furlongs for older horses.

Mischevious Alex, a 4-year-old Into Mischief colt trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., won the one-turn mile Grade 3 Gotham at Aqueduct and seven-furlong Grade 3 Swale at Gulfstream Park last year for former conditioner John Servis.

The versatile dark bay is perfect in two starts since joining the Joseph, Jr. stable, including a prominent score in the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint on February 13 last out traveling six furlongs on a fast track.

Joseph, Jr. said Mischevious Alex has proven his ability over multiple distances and tracks.

“I feel pretty confident with him at six furlongs. He's won at seven furlongs and he's won over that track already at a mile,” said Joseph, Jr. “I like that he's won on the track and I think seven furlongs is well within his reach.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr., winner of the last three Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Jockey, will have the call on Mischevious Alex from post 4. The 28-year-old Ortiz, Jr. enjoyed a tremendous winter at Gulfstream with a record-setting 140 wins at the championship meet.

Joseph, Jr. said the accomplished jockey will have plenty of options to find a winning trip.

“He's very versatile,” said Joseph, Jr of Mischevious Alex. “If they're going slow enough, he could be on the lead. If not, he's very rateable for a horse with a lot of speed.”

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' Mind Control will look to add a fourth Grade 1 win at a third NYRA track following previous success in the 2018 Hopeful at Saratoga, the 2019 Woody Stephens at Belmont and the 2019 H. Allen Jerkens at Saratoga.

The 5-year-old Stay Thirsty horse has enjoyed past success at the Big A, where he is 4-for-5, including scores in the 2019 Grade 3 Bay Shore and last year's Grade 3 Toboggan and Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap.

Mind Control finished third last out in the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up won by Sleepy Eyes Todd on December 19 at Gulfstream Park.

Junior Alvarado has the call from the inside post.

Michael Dubb's Chateau is the likely pacesetter after making the grade last out in the Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap, a six-furlong sprint on March 6 at the Big A that garnered the 6-year-old Flat Out gelding a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

Trained by Rob Atras, Chateau boasts a record of 7-9-8 from 33 career starts but has never won past 6 1/2-furlongs.

Chateau worked a swift four furlongs in 49.49 on March 20 over the Belmont dirt training track and followed with an easy half-mile in 51.66 on Saturday.

“He's coming off just shy of a month between starts,” said Atras. “He's run his best performances when we were about six or seven weeks in between races, so a month isn't too bad. You would like to have more time off after such a big performance like his last race, but his last two works were good, and he came out of the Tom Fool pretty well.”

Kendrick Carmouche retains the mount from post 5.

Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stables and LNJ Foxwoods' Shoplifted is multiple Grade 1-placed, posting a runner-up effort in the one-mile 2019 Hopeful at Saratoga and last year was the third-place finisher traveling seven furlongs in both the Woody Stephens at Belmont and H. Allen Jerkens at the Spa.

The 4-year-old Into Mischief colt has banked $527,000 via a record of 11-2-2-3, including a win in the 2019 Springboard Mile at Remington Park. Shoplifted finished second last out in his seasonal debut when bested by next-out winner Special Reserve in an optional-claiming sprint on February 6 over a sloppy track at Oaklawn Park.

Shoplifted will emerge from post 3 under Jose Ortiz.

Rounding out the field is Live Oak Plantation's homebred Souper Stonehenge. Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the 5-year-old Speightstown gelding will make his Big A debut from a runner-up effort in the six-furlong Pelican on February 13 at Tampa Bay Downs.

Tyler Gaffalione will guide Souper Stonehenge from post 2.

The Carter is slated as Race 6 on Saturday's 11-race program. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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