Cold Cash 123 earns spot in Champion of Champions

Cold Cash 123, the reigning Quarter Horse World Champion, is coming to California this fall. But when he will arrive and who will train him remains to be seen.

Last Sunday at Remington Park, Cold Cash 123 earned an automatic berth to the $750,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos on Dec. 15 with a victory in the $250,000 Remington Park Championship in Oklahoma.

Trained by Texas-based Sleepy Gilbreath for Michigan residents Walter and Carolyn Bay, Cold Cash 123 is unbeaten in two starts this year, having won the Leo Stakes at Remington Park in March.

Gilbreath said Monday that Cold Cash 123 is likely to join his stable at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico this summer, but will not have an extensive campaign. The Ruidoso stakes schedule emphasizes 2- and 3-year-old racing; the main race for older horses is the $40,000 All American Gold Cup on Sept. 2.

Gilbreath said he may not accompany Cold Cash 123 to California, but could send him to a locally based trainer. If that occurs, Gilbreath said a decision on who will train Cold Cash 123 will be made later.

“I’ve got a lot of friends in California,” he said.

Racing options for Cold Cash 123 at Los Alamitos in the fall include the $100,000 Go Man Go Handicap over 400 yards on Sept. 23 or the $150,000 Los Alamitos Championship over 440 yards on Oct. 28.

Cold Cash 123, a 4-year-old, won the Remington Park Championship over 440 yards, closing well after bumping with a rival at the start.

“He got bumped out of the gate pretty good,” Gilbreath said. “He just bulled up and came on at the end. He ran an awful big race. It’s unbelievable how solid the horse is. He wants to go to the other end.”

De Alba released from hospital

Los Alamitos-based jockey Cesar de Alba was released from a local hospital last Saturday after suffering injuries in a two-horse spill in a sprint for Thoroughbreds at Los Alamitos the previous night. De Alba suffered a punctured lung and injured ribs in the accident.

Guillermo Gutierrez, who also was involved in the spill, was not injured. One horse, Onebadboy, was euthanized, Los Alamitos said in a statement.

De Alba won the 2010 Charger Bar Handicap on Stylish Jess Br.