Handicapper's Corner: Game on in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2)

Game on in the Los Alamitos Futurity 

By Rowan Ward, Blinkers-Off

On Saturday, West Coast juveniles take the spotlight in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2). The 1 1/16-mile race offers a purse of $200,000 as well as 10-5-3-2-1 Road to the Kentucky Derby points to its top five qualifying finishers. Though the race drew a field of only five, unlike in the last few years, all of the runners are eligible for Kentucky Derby points since Bob Baffert can enter horses in the Run for the Roses again.

This race is the successor to the Hollywood Futurity, which was moved to Los Alamitos after Hollywood Park closed. Though only one horse has won both this race and the Kentucky Derby, 1997 winner Real Quiet, six starters in this race have gone on to win the Run for the Roses. However, that hasn’t happened since 2005 when Giacomo, who had finished second at Hollywood the year before, blew up the Kentucky Derby tote.

However, that does not mean recent winners of this race haven’t shined in other major races. Shared Belief (2013) emerged as one of the best horses in his class at ages two, three, and four. Into Mischief (2007), Pioneerof the Nile (2008), and Violence (2012) have gone on to be important stallions. And 2022 winner, Practical Move, went on to win the Santa Anita Derby (G1) the following year.

Carded as Race 8 of 9, post time for the Los Alamitos Futurity is 3:54 PM, PT

The horse to beat in the 2024 Los Alamitos Futurity is Gaming. Most recently second behind Citizen Bull in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, he is the leader of the three-strong Bob Baffert brigade in this race. Though he is drawn on the fence, it is only a field of five, and he won the Del Mar Futurity (G1) from the two-hole in a field of seven this summer. His running style is excellent for this race and field size as well: he has sharp yet tactical speed, giving him the options to either wire the field or stalk and pounce if stablemates Getaway Car or Mellencamp really punch down the accelerator.

The horse with the most upside to topple the heavy favorite is Journalism, a lightly-raced runner for Michael McCarthy. He has just two starts and was defeated by a pair, including Mellencamp on debut, but that was a six-furlong sprint at Santa Anita. He stretched to a two-turn mile at Del Mar for his second start, rallied from midfield, and won by 2 ½ lengths over fellow Los Alamitos Futurity entrant Rank. He’ll need to stay as close as possible given the five-horse field size or hope that the Baffert Brigade gets locked into some kind of pace battle. But, the fact that he woke up trying two turns for the first time is a positive, and that tracks nicely with the fact that he is by Curlin out of the graded-quality two-turn dirt mare Mopotism, a daughter of Uncle Mo.

Getaway Car is the only other winner in the field. He has tables to turn on Gaming, who beat him head-to-head in both the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the Del Mar Futurity. He also has yet to prove that he can win a race without making the top from the start. However, without Citizen Bull in the mix and drawn outside of the other two Baffert trainees, Getaway Car may just bounce out to the lead under Juan Hernandez and play a game of catch-me-if-you-can. If that happens, especially if speed is playing well on Saturday, there is hope for Getaway Car to spring the minor upset.

Selections:

#1 Gaming (2-5)

#5 Journalism (6-1)

#3 Getaway Car (3-1)