Circle City, Nomadic need to break better in Southern California Derby trials

Bad starts in trial races at Los Alamitos in October led to rearranged goals in November for the 3-year-old Quarter Horses Circle City and Nomadic.

Circle City and Nomadic were beaten in divisions of the Los Alamitos Super Derby trials on Oct. 17, failing to qualify for the $1.052 million final held on Nov. 8. Instead, Circle City and Nomadic are among 35 3-year-olds entered in five divisions of the Southern California Derby trials at Los Alamitos on Sunday. Circle City and Nomadic are trained by Scott Willoughby for Los Alamitos track owner Ed Allred.

The 10 fastest qualifiers in the 400-yard trials advance to the $154,550 final on Dec. 20. The five trial races are the fourth through eighth races on an eight-race program.

Circle City will be favored in the sixth race while facing two respected rivals in Runforyourlife, who won the Golden State Million Futurity in November 2019 by a nose over Circle City, and Kiss Thru Fire, who was second in the All American Oaks at Ruidoso Downs on Sept. 6.

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Circle City reared at the start of a trial for the Super Derby, losing all chance. Earlier this year, Circle City won the Golden State Derby at 400 yards.

Nomadic was away slowly in a trial for the Super Derby and finished third behind Kiss Thru Fire. Earlier this year, Nomadic won the Governor’s Cup Derby at 400 yards.

Circle City and Nomadic are the only derby winners among Sunday’s trial entrants. All the trials include prominent runners who were competitive in leading races for 3-year-olds earlier this year.

The fourth race is led by Allred’s Up for Speed, who was second in the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association Breeders’ Derby in October and did not start in the Super Derby trials.

Just Be Real, third in the PCQHRA Breeders’ Derby, and Suite Expectations, third in the Los Alamitos Oaks in March, are the leading runners in the fifth race.

In the seventh race, Mental Error will be favored on the basis of his second to Tell Cartel in the Super Derby. The field includes Fire By Night, who was third in the El Primero Del Ano Derby in March.

Aside from Nomadic, the top runners in the eighth races are the filly Southern Wagon, who was second in the Los Alamitos Oaks in March, and Sass Go Blue, who won the 2019 PCQHRA Breeders’ Futurity.