Allred, Willoughby sweep top three spots in Governor's Cup Derby

Nomadic backed his status as the fastest qualifier with his first six-figure stakes win in Sunday’s $180,000 Governor’s Cup Derby at Los Alamitos, leading a sweep of the first three positions for owner and breeder Ed Allred and trainer Scott Willoughby.

Allred, the owner of Los Alamitos Racecourse, bred five of the 10 finalists in the Governor’s Cup Derby. The Allred-Willoughby team finished second and third with Up for Speed and Just Be Real and eighth with Bono Is Good. Close to It was scratched.

Nomadic ($3.80) led throughout the 400 yards under jockey Vinnie Bednar and won by three-quarters of a length over 9-2 Up for Speed in 19.61 seconds. A gelding by prominent stallion Favorite Cartel, Nomadic has won 5 of 10 starts and earned $243,998.

Nomadic was fourth as the 8-5 favorite in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity last December and was the fastest qualifier for that race in time trials last November.

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The Governor’s Cup Derby was the richest race on Sunday’s program.

In the previous race, Bail Czech ($7.40) won a diluted running of the $100,000 Spencer Childers Handicap for older horses at 400 yards.

Chocolatito, the morning-line favorite and the winner of the Vessels Maturity on July 5, and the 2018 futurity winner Cole Man 47, were scratched earlier on Sunday on the advice of a panel of racing officials who are scrutinizing the racing, training, and veterinarian records of horses entered to race at Los Alamitos.

The panel was put in place earlier this month after a series of equine fatalities in racing and training in recent months at Los Alamitos. A similar panel was put in place at Southern California Thoroughbred tracks in the spring of 2019.

Willoughby trains Chocolatito for Allred and said the gelding could start in the Go Man Go Handicap on Aug. 30.

Bail Czech, the second choice in a field of five in the Childers, won by a half-length over 9-1 Transcend, finishing in 19.69 seconds. Bail Czech was fifth in the Vessels Maturity.

A 4-year-old gelding, Bail Czech races for EG High Desert Farm and trainer Jesus Nunez. Jesus Ayala rode Bail Czech, who has won 6 of 23 starts and earned $187,660.

Saturday, the 2-year-old half-brothers Constituent and Squid Word finished first and second in the $315,000 Governor’s Cup Futurity.

Constituent is a colt by Separate Interest out of Tahma Hawk. Squid Word is a colt by Favorite Cartel out of Tahma Hawk. They are half-brothers because Quarter Horse breeding permits registration of multiple foals out of a mare in the same year, with mares bred via embryo transfer.

Constituent, trained by Valentin Zamudio for M & G Farms, ran 350 yards in 17.66 seconds, finishing a nose in front of Squid Word. Ridden by Juan Leon, Constituent paid $12.20. Untuckit, the 2-1 favorite, finished sixth, beaten 1 1/2 lengths.

Constituent has won 3 of 4 starts and earned $139,315.