Beyond Repair looks to back up trial win in Kindergarten Futurity
Beyond Repair starts in Sunday’s $275,800 Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity at Los Alamitos after two wins since late March that established the gelding as one of the leading juveniles in California.
He is not alone.
Two of the other nine runners in the Kindergarten Futurity at 300 yards, the fillies Beuteeful and Wake Up Lil Suze, also are unbeaten after two starts and are capable of winning the track’s first futurity of the year.
Beyond Repair, trained by Valentin Zamudio, will start from post 10, a change from his win in the Kindergarten trials on April 19 when he started from the inside post in a field of seven.
Beyond Repair won the first of eight trials that evening, finishing in 15.681 seconds for the fastest qualifying time.
Purchased for $26,000 as a yearling last October, Beyond Repair won a maiden race at 220 yards in his first start March 29. Ruben Lozano was aboard for both wins and has the mount Sunday.
Beuteeful won the third division of the Kindergarten trials in 15.771, while Wake Up Lil Suze won the fourth trial in 15.777.
Beuteeful has been an odds-on favorite in her two wins, but may lose that role to Beyond Repair on Sunday. Beuteeful is trained by Kristin Watanabe, who earlier this year took over trainer Heath Taylor’s stable after Taylor was summarily suspended by New Mexico officials for medication violations last summer in Albuquerque. Taylor is one of Quarter Horse racing’s leading trainers in recent years.
Watanabe also starts Trident Iot, who won a division of the Kindergarten trials in 15.78.
Wake Up Lil Suze, trained by Paul Jones, had a busy April, winning her debut in a maiden race at 220 yards on April 5. In the Kindergarten trials, she finished a nose in front of Elmer Romero, who qualified for Sunday’s final.
Wake Up Lil Suze is by Favorite Cartel and is out of Suze Returns. She is closely related to another qualifier in the filly Candy Eyed Suze, who is out of Brown Eyed Suze, dam of Suze Returns.
Candy Eyed Suze, trained by Eddie Willis, won her debut in the Kindergarten trials in 15.87 and is the only finalist with one start. Through Friday, Willis led all Quarter Horse trainers at Los Alamitos with 19 wins.
There are four fillies in the Kindergarten field, including the outsider Sentella Olimpia, who was second to Beyond Repair in the trials.
The Kindergarten is followed on the track’s calendar of stakes for 2-year-olds by the $1 million-estimated Ed Burke Memorial Futurity at 350 yards, which has time trials on May 25 and a final on June 15.
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