Careers of Platki, KVN Corona converge in Ed Burke Million Futurity

Platki and KVN Corona have been on parallel career paths this spring leading up to their first meeting in Sunday’s $1 million Ed Burke Million Futurity for Quarter Horses at Los Alamitos.

The colts won maiden races a week apart in late April and early May and time trials for the Ed Burke Million on June 4 in consecutive races. Platki had the fastest qualifying time for 350 yards at 17.64 seconds. KVN Corona was clocked in 17.65 seconds.

They figure to dominate the betting in a field of 10 for the Ed Burke Million, the first of three seven-figure futurities at Los Alamitos this year. The Golden State Million Futurity is on Nov. 5. The Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity is on Dec. 17.

Appropriately, Platki and KVN Corona will start side by side in posts 5 and 6.

Platki, a brother to Flying Fig, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2010, is owned by breeders Pete and Evelyn Parrella of Legacy Ranch of Clements, Calif., and trained by Terry Knight.

Knight, a longtime fixture in California Thoroughbred racing, began training five Quarter Horses for Legacy Ranch this year following the retirement of Dennis Ekins. Knight’s father, Shay, won the 1968 Ed Burke with the legendary Kaweah Bar.

Platki won the seventh division of 12 time trials by three-quarters of a length over Remember to Dash, who qualified for the Ed Burke. Platki’s trial-race win confirmed Terry Knight’s early impressions.

“He didn’t have this horse for more than two or three weeks when he called me and said, ‘I just want to tell you something. I think you have something very, very special,’ ” Pete Parrella told Los Alamitos publicity on June 4.

“I said, ‘How can you know that?’ He said, ‘When you’ve been around as long as I have, you can tell the difference.’ ”

KVN Corona races for Keith Nellesen of Mapleton, Utah, and is trained by Paul Jones.

KVN Corona won the sixth time trial by a half-length over Jess My Kiss, who qualified for the Ed Burke. KVN Corona is a brother to Big Lew, the winner of the 2016 Los Alamitos Super Derby.

The 10 finalists will be having their first start in a stakes. Fire and Sass and Summertime Favorite, first and third in the Kindergarten Futurity on May 14, did not qualify for the Ed Burke after finishing second and third in a slowly run time trial.