Brimmerton targets stakes win

Brimmerton, a highly hyped juvenile in Texas, will try to live up to his ink by gaining his first stakes win in the Grade 1, $1,088,856 Texas Classic Futurity on Saturday night at Lone Star Park.

Owned by Bobby Cox and from the barn of Lone Star leading stakes trainer John Buchanan, Brimmerton has won 3 of his 4 starts. His only setback was a sixth-place finish in the Grade 1, $266,760 Retama Park Futurity on June 22, his sole stakes appearance. The 2-5 favorite in the Retama Park Futurity, he stepped back when the gate opened and was momentarily held by his flipping halter. He was last out of the gate but was moving the fastest of all in the final 100 yards.

In his Texas Classic Futurity trial on Nov. 15, Brimmerton won by a nose over None as Easy. Brimmerton raced the 400 yards in 19.684 seconds, the second-fastest qualifying time. None as Easy was credited with the third-fastest time, 19.691 seconds.

None as Easy, with 10 starts at four tracks, has stakes credentials that include wins in the Grade 2 Valley Junction Futurity and the Grade 3 American Airlines Central Challenge. A Charley Hunt-trained colt, he also ran second in the Grade 2 Lazy E Futurity and third in the Grade 1 American Airlines Challenge Championship.

Topping the Texas Classic qualifiers list is Razzabedazz, trained by William Jolley Howard. The filly won her maiden in her trial by beating All American Futurity finalist Sixes Royal in a time of 19.674 seconds.

Oak Tree Special after 8th straight

Oak Tree Special will go for his eighth straight victory and his fourth Grade 1 derby win in the Grade 1, $362,925 Texas Classic Derby on Friday night at Lone Star Park.

Trained by Bobby Martinez, Oak Tree Special has moved to the upper echelon of the 3-year-old ranks with Grade 1 wins in the Remington Park Derby, Retama Park Derby, and the Dash for Cash Derby. He started his winning streak in his Retama Park Derby trial on June 7.

At Lone Star Park this fall he is 3 for 3, with a win over Grade 1 Rainbow Derby winner Silvered Eyes in the Dash for Cash Derby. He then won his 440-yard Texas Classic Derby trial by a neck in 21.618 seconds, the fourth-fastest qualifying time.

Snow Me was the fastest qualifier with 21.542-second trial win. He finished third - behind Oak Tree Special and Silvered Eyes - in the Dash for Cash Derby.

Friday: Hawkish in Million trials

Hawkish, chasing a $1 million bonus, makes his first start for trainer Danny Cardoza in the third trial to the Grade 1, $1,367,650 Los Alamitos Million on Friday night at Los Alamitos.

Hawkish will earn the $1 million Los Alamitos Bonanza bonus if he wins the Los Alamitos Million on Dec. 12. But first he must qualify with one of the 10 fastest times in Friday's 10 trials. The bonus goes to the connections of any horse that wins the Kindergarten, Ed Burke Memorial Futurity, and the Million.

A winner of three Grade 1 futurities for previous trainer Concepcion Balderrama, Hawkish set the Los Alamitos 300-yard track record of 15.180 seconds when he won the $400,000 Kindergarten.

Golden State Futurity winner Be a Bono, owned by 91-year-old Spencer Childers, was considered the major threat to Hawkish, but will miss the trials due to a muscle strain. Babe on the Fly and Righteous Brother, the second- and third-place finishers in the Golden State Futurity, are among the 78 juveniles in the trials.

First to Flash in Refrigerator

First to Flash, who could have earned a Champion of Champions berth in the Z. Wayne Griffin trials at Los Alamitos last weekend but was scratched, will try to earn a Champions invitation in the Grade 1, $100,000 Refrigerator Handicap over 440 yards at Lone Star Park on Friday night.

The 2002 champion 2-year-old colt, First to Flash was second in the Los Alamitos Derby on Nov. 8, and co-owner Leslie Amestoy said the owners thought the Griffin trials were "too soon after the Los Alamitos Derby."