BH Lisas Boy takes the Kaweah Bar Handicap

5/07/2017..LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, CYPRESS, CA… Bill Hoburg’s BH Lisas Boy improved his 2017 record to three wins in as many starts after cruising to a ¾ length win in the Grade 3 $25,000 Kaweah Bar Handicap on Sunday at Los Alamitos.

Ridden by Cesar De Alba for trainer John Cooper, the Mighty Invictus gelding broke evenly with the red-hot runner El Remalcable before pulling away from his rival in the second half of the race. BH Lisas Boy covered the 350 yards in a fast :17.548 from post number one while adding the Kaweah Bar to his February victory in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Championship. Already the owner of a berth to this year’s $750,000 Champion of Champions, BH Lisas Boy earned $13,750 for the win to take his career bankroll to $334,006 with 13 wins from 23 starts.

“He reminds me of Moonist a lot,” said Cooper, who trained the champion Moonist to 24 wins and $878,468 in earnings. “(BH Lisas Boy) is nice to be around and I think he’s easy to train. I’m sure Bill would say the same thing. He’s really coming into himself right now. I really wasn’t worried about him going 350 yards. They would say that Moonist was a 400 yard horse, but Moonist won the Kaweah Bar in :17.33 at 350 yards. The good ones don’t just run a certain distance. It depends on when you ask them to run. BH Lisas Boy is doing things right. He had a pretty good campaign last year and Bill did the right thing, he turned him out and I was priviledged that he would think about leaving him with me. He said that I get up earlier than him. I hope (Bill) is happy. He had horses running in trials somewhere else today, but he should be here around May 15. I’m happy and I hope Bill is as well.”

In 2016, BH Lisas Boy won the Bank of America California Regional Championship and was second in the Grade 1 Bank of America Challenge Championship, Grade 1 Go Man Go Handicap, and Grade 1 Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Invitational Championship.

Jesus Daniel Padilla’s El Remalcable earned $5,625 for running second in the Kaweah Bar. The lightly raced 4-year-old son of Two Corona Special was making only his seventh career start. He has finished third or better in every one of his outings and came into this race having won his previous four races, including a pair of allowances. El Remalcable is a half-brother of Hector Padilla’s Remarkableyesapoweer, the winner of last year’s Cypress Handicap and a participant of eight stakes races in his career. Jose Nicasio piloted El Remalcable for trainer Felix Gonzalez.

Remarkable is He Looks Hot, the gelding by Walk Thru Fire trained by Scott Willoughby, as he became AQHA Hall of Fame owner Ed Allred’s first racehorse to go over a million dollar in career earnings. He Looks Hot, the winner of the 2014 Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity and 2016 Grade 1 Vessels Maturity, came into this race needing $111 to reach the magical million figure. He Looks Hot reach the mark after earning $3,125 thanks to his third place finish in the Kaweah Bar. The Allred-bred runner’s career earnings now stand at $1,003,014. Mr PYC To You and Winners Cool Chick completed the field.

2-YEAR-OLDS KEEP ON ROLLING AT LOS ALAMITOS

It was a big weekend of 2-year-old racing at Los Alamitos. On Saturday evening, two promising prospects in the form of Legacy Ranch’s Platki and Rosenthal Ranch’s Effortless Effort were the big stars, but there were some impressive runners on Friday and Sunday night as well.

On Friday evening, five juveniles scored victories at 300-yards headed by Duke Racing LLC’s Sweet 16. Purchased privately by her owners, the PYC Paint Your Wagon filly won in a time of :15.507 and by 1 ¾ lengths from along the rail. The Kentucky-bred Sweet 16 is out of the mare Fovee, the winner of the 2011 Mildred Vessels Memorial Handicap.

“She’s not big, but neither was her mother, which I also trained for Sweet 16’s breeders, Gentry Farms,” said trainer Juan Aleman of Sweet 16. “This filly has a lot of quickness.”

Lazy Creek Ranch and Jerry McAlevey’s On Our Way also impressed after his head victory in a time of :15.735 for trainer Jose Flores. Purchased for $16,000 at the Los Alamitos Equine Sale, On Our Way is out of the stakes winning mare Attack The Cartel, which earned over $50,000 in her racing career. On Our Way is from the family of major Grade 1 stakes finalist Separate Tac. Abigail Kawananakoa’s Chance To Fire, which she purchased for $170,000 at the Los Alamitos Equine Sale, also won on Friday. Bred by Ed Allred, the Walk Thru Fire gelding won in :15.525 while posting a half-length victory for trainer Chris O’Dell.

“Chance To Fire is a huge, beautiful, well-balanced horse,” O’Dell said. “He’s one of the better juveniles I have this year.”

Chance To Fire is from the female family of All American Futurity winner Elans Special.

EG High Desert Farms’ Remember To Dash, a filly by First Down Dash out of the great mare Remember Me Rose, won on Friday as well. Trained by Yanet Rodriguez, the James Markum and Steve Burns-bred runner won in :15.595. Her dam, the outstanding Remember Me Rose, won the 2007 Ruidoso Derby and earned over $820,000 while winning nine of 18 starts. Robin MacPherson Living Trust’s No Kiddin wrapped up the collection of winners on Friday night. Trained by James Glenn, Jr., No Kiddin was a ¾ length winner in :15.695. Bred by David Martin, No Kiddin was purchased for $38,000 at the Los Alamitos Equine Sale.

“We are letting him develop,” Glenn Jr. said. “He want our babies to be sound, have their mind right and develop. If they can run it will show up. If they can run, the cream will rise to the top. We are looking at the long term development of these runners.”

Another solid group of juveniles were on display on Sunday with Lila Kessinger’s Phoxxy plus the O’Dell-trained duo of On Stranger Tides and Terrific Temptation the winners on the night. Trained by Mike Casselman, Phoxxy won by a neck in a time of :16.13. She’s now another winner by the legendary First Down Dash and out of Love Ya Miss Jess. Owned by O’Dell and his son, Colten, On Stranger Tides won in a time of :15.97. The Iowa-bred gelding is by Favorite Cartel and out of Motorin. Parsons Family Limited Partnership’s Terrific Temptation wrapped up the weekend’s list of 2-year-old winners after posting a head victory in a time of :15.678. Terrific Temptation beat Remember The Rose, also out of the previously mentioned Remember Me Rose. As for Terrific Temptation, she’s a Parsons-bred filly by Tempting Dash and out of the Grade 1 winner Terrific Energy. The latter was campaigned by the Parsons and trained by O’Dell.

courtesy of Los Alamitos Race Course