Bomb Cyclone, Whizkey Glasses square off in Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity
CYPRESS, Calif. – Bomb Cyclone and Whizkey Glasses were a couple of real show-offs in time trials Nov. 21 for Sunday’s $2,036,825 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity.
Bomb Cyclone set the fastest qualifying time of 19.56 seconds for 400 yards with a startling four-length win. Four races later, Whizkey Glasses won a trial by three lengths in 19.74 to record the second-fastest qualifying time.
Trial winner Apollitical J Streak had the third-best time in a seemingly pedestrian 19.99.
The well-bred Bomb Cyclone will be favored in Sunday’s final, but only by a slight margin over Whizkey Glasses.
Bomb Cyclone, owned by Connie Rosenthal and trained by Chris O’Dell, is a full brother to the millionaire Powerful Favorite, who was entered in Saturday’s $600,000 Champion of Champions, and the major stakes winners Runforyourlife and Cyber Monday.
Rosenthal owns Powerful Favorite and Runforyourlife, and took O’Dell’s advice in 2020 to purchase Bomb Cyclone for $215,000 at the Ruidoso yearling sale.
Bomb Cyclone won for the second time in his fourth start in the Nov. 21 trial, his first start since a troubled fifth at 1-2 in a division of the All American Futurity trials at Ruidoso Downs in August.
O’Dell, the nation’s outstanding trainer of 2019, said Bomb Cyclone has recovered from his fast trial race win.
“He’s not going to bounce,” O’Dell said Wednesday. “He can get beat, but he won’t bounce. This might be the best baby I’ve ever trained.”
Bomb Cyclone starts from the rail Sunday, a position O’Dell chose at a draw event Wednesday.
“It worked once, so let’s try it again,” O’Dell said. “His biggest deal is getting out of the gate, and the rail is the best spot [for him]. He came back pretty good.”
Whizkey Glasses, trained by Monty Arrossa for Dunn Ranch, won the $1.1 million Golden State Million Futurity on Oct. 31 and has an excellent chance to be the first horse to sweep the two late-season seven-figure futurities since the filly Flash and Roll in 2018.
Whizkey Glasses has won 6 of 8 starts and earned $523,404, the highest among the 10 runners in the Two Million Futurity. Arrossa said an active autumn campaign has not taken a toll on Whizkey Glasses, who began his career in April and was a minor stakes winner at Remington Park in May.
“All indications are he’s good,” Arrossa said. “He came out of these trials as good or better as the Golden State Million trials.”
Whizkey Glasses will start from post 9, one stall to the outside of Chizum, who was fifth in the Golden State Million and won a division of the Two Million Futurity trials in 20.03.
Champion of Champions purse
The Champion of Champions, the nation’s leading race for older Quarter Horses, will be worth $750,000 in 2022, an increase from $600,000 this year, Los Alamitos officials announced Wednesday.
The race was worth $1 million in 2007, and $750,000 from 2008 to 2012 and again in 2017. Since 2013, the race has been worth $600,000 most years, including Saturday’s running. The race was not held in 2014.