Apollitical Pence, Flash Bak will need their best in Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship

There was no winter vacation this year for Apollitical Pence, who won the $600,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos in December.

Apollitical Pence stayed in training and won his 2022 debut in a division of the Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship trials at 400 yards on Jan. 30 for his third consecutive win. Apollitical Pence was timed in 19.55 seconds, the fastest qualifying time for Sunday’s $152,700 final.

“He came out of the Champions of Champions super” this winter, trainer Monty Arrossa told Los Alamitos publicity on Jan. 30. “We thought that since he’s doing so well, training so well and so happy, let’s go ahead and take a shot at this one.”

Owned by Matt and Bendi Dunn, Apollitical Pence will need to be as sharp in the Winter Championship as he was in the Champion of Champions on Dec. 11, and the recent time trials. Flash Bak, second in the Champion of Champions, won a division of the Winter Championship trials in the fine time of 15.59 seconds and is a major threat to Apollitical Pence’s status as the leading older horse in California.

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The Winter Championship is the first major stakes of the year for older horses at Los Alamitos, and a race with long-range implications. The winner receives a berth to the Champion of Champions in December. Apollicial Pence is one of four horses to win consecutive runnings of the Champion of Champions, having done so in an upset in 2020. His win in December was less of a surprise.

Sunday evening, Armando Cervantes will ride Apollitical Pence, who breaks from post 3. Flash Bak starts from post 8 in a field of 10.

Trained by Jaime Gomez, Flash Bak has won 8 of 17 starts in his career and 7 of 10 at Los Alamitos. A draw toward the outside of the field is a major boost for Flash Bak, who was acquired privately earlier this year by Sam Valeriano.

In the Los Alamitos Super Derby, Flash Bak won from post 8 in a field of nine. He had the same draw in the nine-runner Champion of Champions. In the Winter Championship trials, Flash Bak won from post 2 in a field of seven. Oscar Peinado rides Flash Bak.

Gomez described Flash Bak’s trial win as perfect. “He’s getting better with age,” Gomez said.

Flash Bak will need any advantage possible to beat Apollitical Pence.

Other runners include the 2021 major stakes winners Circle City and You Can Run, who were sixth and seventh in the Champion of Champions. In the Winter Championship trials, Circle City and You Can Run were second and third behind Flash Bak.