Arrossa holding strong hand in Southern California Derby

More than 10 months after he finished second in the year’s first major stakes for 3-year-old Quarter Horses in California, the Los Alamitos Winter Derby, the gelding Ready for It is the fastest qualifier for the final such race of 2024, Sunday’s $157,400 Southern California Derby at Los Alamitos.

Similar to the Winter Derby, Ready for It may be overshadowed by a stablemate.

Back in February, Ready for It was beaten by Bp Cartel Policy, who went on to win the Golden State Derby and Los Alamitos Super Derby before a sixth-place finish in the $600,000 Champion of Champions on Dec. 14.

Ready for It is one of four runners in the Southern California Derby trained by Monty Arrossa, who also starts the highly respected Stanley Cartel as well as Foosea and Sc Time to Run in the field of 10.

While Ready for It was the fastest qualifier for the Southern California Derby from four time trials on Dec. 1, with a time of 19.78 seconds, Stanley Cartel was a trial race winner in 19.88, good enough for the third-quickest time.

Stanley Cartel has won 6 of 7 starts, with his only loss a last-place finish after a troubled start in the Super Derby on Nov. 10. He was much brighter in the Southern California Derby trials.

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“Stanley Cartel had a rough go at the start in the Super Derby,” Arrossa told Los Alamitos publicity on trial night. “He didn’t get his break. He got closed off, got dirt in his face for the first time.”

In the Southern California Derby trial, Stanley Cartel, ridden by Armando Cervantes, won by a half-length over Try Harder, who also is in Sunday’s final.

“I was proud of him bouncing back,” Arrossa said of Stanley Cartel. “He showed his class, and Armando did a great job of getting him away from the gate.”

Foosea, second to Ready for It in the trials with a time of 19.86, and Sc Time to Run, a trial race winner in 19.93, will be longer prices than Ready for It and Stanley Cartel.

Ready for It has won 3 of 7 starts this year, including the minor James Smith Handicap for 3-year-olds at 350 yards in April.

Sc Time to Run, who starts from the outside post, won the prestigious Heritage Place Derby at Remington Park in June for trainer Jed Vane. The gelding was trained by Arrossa earlier in his career and rejoined the stable this fall at Los Alamitos.

Of the runners not trained by Arrossa, Relentless Coronado was the only other trial winner, in 20.04 for trainer Heath Taylor, who won the Champion of Champions for the third consecutive year on Dec. 14.

A win by Relentless Coronado on Sunday would be more of a surprise, and the gelding’s first major stakes win in his 18th start.

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