Chocolatito wins Kaweah Bar Handicap in 2020 debut

Chocolatito, beaten in three six-figure derbies last year, won his 2020 debut in Saturday’s $35,000 Kaweah Bar Handicap at Los Alamitos, a race expected to lead to another appearance in a lucrative race this summer.

Ridden by Vinnie Bednar, Chocolatito ($5.40) won the Kaweah Bar Handicap at 350 yards by a head over 5-2 Alamode, despite a slow start. Chocolatito took the lead in the final strides, finishing in 17.399 seconds, the second-fastest clocking at the distance at the current Los Alamitos meeting, which began in late December.

Alamode ran 350 yards in 17.392 seconds when he won the Mr Jet Moore Handicap on March 21.

Tac Me Up (7-2) finished third in the Kaweah Bar, holding an early lead before finishing a half-length behind Chocolatito. Chicks Fayvorite, a 27-1 outsider, unseated jockey Ruben Lozano at the start. The stewards reviewed the start and deemed Chicks Fayvorite to be a starter.

Chocolatito, owned by Los Alamitos track owner Ed Allred and trained by Scott Willoughby, is likely to start in time trials for the Vessels Maturity at 400 yards on June 14. The final, with an estimated purse of $150,000, is July 7.

:: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

The winner of the Vessels Maturity receives a berth to the $600,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos on Dec. 12. Last December, Allred, Willoughby, and Bednar won the Champion of Champions with He Look Hot, the 2019 World Champion Quarter Horse.

Willoughby told Los Alamitos publicity that Chocolatito was racing at his minimum distance in the Kaweah Bar.

“He smoked down through there,” Willoughby said. “I was a little worried that I wasn’t going to have him fit enough.

“The horse is a fantastic horse. He is just getting better every time. He is built for distance.”

A winner of 6 of 13 and $101,585, Chocolatito won the $25,000 Dillingham Handicap at 400 yards last May, his only previous stakes win prior to the Kaweah Bar.

Later in 2019, Chocolatito was fifth at 3-5 in the $211,100 Golden State Derby in August, second by a nose at 7-10 in the $150,000 Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association Breeders’ Derby in October, and fourth at 3-1 after a slow start in the $168,700 Southern California Derby in December.

The Kaweah Bar was the last of nine races Saturday, which had all-sources handle of $2,812,029, second only to the all-time record of $2,843,573 set April 25 for an evening meeting of Quarter Horses and lower-level Thoroughbreds.

With the coronavirus limiting the number of tracks in operation this spring, Los Alamitos has taken a prominent role as one of the nation’s few evening signals. Since April 18, the track has recorded four of its top five all-time handle figures.

Saturday’s $1 late pick four had a record pool of $244,772, easily surpassing the previous mark of $203,647 set in June 2018. The $1 early pick four on Saturday had a handle of $424,500, second all-time to the $442,781 recorded April 25.