Aceves trio headed by Mi Viejo

The husband-wife team of jockey Rodrigo Aceves and trainer Adriana Aceves can win their biggest race together when Mi Viejo starts in Sunday’s $210,000 El Primero Del Ano Derby for 3-year-old Quarter Horse colts and geldings at Los Alamitos.

Adriana Aceves, 35, trains the three horses who qualified for the El Primero Del Ano Derby with wins from the time trials on March 13. Rodrigo Aceves, 36, rode all of the winners.

Eternity, claimed for $16,000 from a maiden race on Jan. 8, won for the first time in his 10th start in the first division of the trials, running 400 yards in 19.94 seconds.

Mi Viejo, owned by Rancho El Alarcan, won the second division of the trials in 19.83 seconds, setting the fastest qualifying time. The El Primero Del Ano Derby will be the third stakes final for Mi Viejo, who was fifth in the Golden State Million Futurity last November, and eighth in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity in December.

El Compa Jv, also owned by Rancho El Alarcan, won the final division in 19.85 seconds. The colt was fifth in the Los Alamitos Winter Derby in February.

Rodrigo Aceves, who won the 2012 El Primero Del Ano Derby with New Look, will ride Mi Viejo in Sunday’s final. Eternity will be ridden by Rodrigo Vallejo. Jose Badilla, Jr. has the mount on El Compa Jv.

Two other finalists from the Los Alamitos Winter Derby – Rite Regal (sixth) and Chicks Fayvorite (ninth) – qualified for the El Primero Del Ano Derby. They finished in a dead heat for second behind Eternity in the trials.

Jose Flores trains Rite Regal as well as We Like Corona, who qualified for Sunday’s race by finishing third behind Mi Viejo in the trials. We Like Corona was fourth in the Ed Burke Million Futurity last June and the Los Alamitos Two Million.

John Cooper, who trains reigning World Champion Quarter Horse Moonist, starts My Favorite Check, who won the $111,000 Los Alamitos Maiden Stakes in February and was second to Mi Viejo in the time trials.