The Los Alamitos Derby is set for renewal this weekend as a compact field of sophomores is in prospect. They will be negotiating 9 furlongs with a purse of $200,000 on the line.
Formerly known as the Swaps Stakes when it was when it was run at Hollywood Park, some eventful results have occurred over the decades in this fixture. One of the most devastating was the defeat of the previously unbeaten Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew in 1977.
Bob Baffert, who else, has dominated the Los Alamitos Derby over the years as he is looking for his 7th win in the race. Last year his student Gimme Da Lute was successful and this season he could be represented by Ten Blessings.
That runner will be trying to do several things that he has never done. Ten Blessings comes into the Los Alamitos Derby off a dull 7th as the favorite at Del Mar. He won his debut in his only other start when he came from 8th of 12 to win going away with a 77 Beyer Speed Figure. Ten Blessings will be trying to go a route of ground for the first time and will be making his stakes debut.
Ten Blessings has a right to get this distance. His sire Smart Strike was a Grade 1 winner routing. His champion dam Indian Blessing won multiple Grade 1s and earned nearly $3 million.
Taman Guard is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, who won this race twice in his career, the last in 2014 with the superstar Shared Belief. Taman Guard won at first asking at Los Alamitos and he was recently third beaten only a length in the $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar on August 26.
Curlin Road seems ambitiously placed. It took him 12 chances to finally win for the first time and he was all out that day holding on by a scant nose. The good news is that the win was at Los Alamitos but to win the Los Alamitos Derby off just one victory is a yeoman’s task.
Mishegas appears to have peaked this spring. He has lost repeatedly at Los Alamitos and he can be his own worst enemy at times since he has limited speed. Since winning in his March finale, this runner has now lost 4 in a row and has not really been close in any of the defeats.
Semper Fortis he will be carrying the hopes of many in the United States Navy. The name Semper Fortis is the motto of the Navy and can mean ‘always powerful’ and ‘always courageous’. Semper Fortis will be making his third start in a stakes. He only beat a pair home in the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita to kick off his season and was a solid second last time finishing a half-length in front of Taman Guard.
One of the best things Semper Fortis has going for him is his pedigree. His dam Rebridled Dreams was a stakes winner but more importantly she dropped three 6-figure earners. The best of those earners was Carpe Diem, who won a pair of Grade 1s, could run all day long and earned over $1.5 million.
Accelerate will be coming to the race at the top of his game. He lost his first 3 sprints but woke up big time once he was sent a route of ground. Accelerate won his fourth start by nearly 9 lengths and then proved it was no fluke when he returned and won the Shared Belief. In that race he was lugging in during the stretch and that is seldom a good sign.
To win this Los Alamitos Derby, a runner will likely need serious speed and Accelerate fits the ticket. On top of his :44 and change velocity, Accelerate’s 2 siblings are both stakes winners and if you go deep in the pedigree researchers will find Wagon Limit.
Wagon Limit had the ability to run till the comes come home as he took the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup and earned nearly $1 million.
If Accelerate is going to win the Los Alamitos Derby this year, it will be his tactical speed and his ability to show his penchant for finding the finish line. Since he was lugging last time, try to get a good look at him on the racetrack.
