Empressum, Apollitical Pence renew rivalry in Los Alamitos Winter Championship
As the reigning Quarter Horse World Champion, Empressum began the year with a win that was more exciting than expected. He overcame a slow start to prevail by a nose in a division of the Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship trials at Los Alamitos on Jan. 29.
Empressum cannot make that mistake in Sunday’s $144,950 final at 400 yards. Empressum will be favored, but will be tested by Apollitical Pence, who won the other trial race on Jan. 29.
The two geldings beat each other last fall in important races.
Apollitical Pence, a 7-year-old gelding owned by Matt and Bendi Dunn and trained by Monty Arrossa, won the $125,000 Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Championship at 440 yards in October by three-quarters of a length over Empressum. Apollitical Pence had a brilliant start and gained an insurmountable lead.
The result was reversed in the $750,000 Champion of Champions at 440 yards on Dec. 10. Empressum broke sharply and led throughout to win by 1 1/4 lengths over Danjer, the 2021 World Champion. Apollitical Pence could only finish third, beaten two lengths.
Empressum, a 4-year-old gelding, races for Steve Holt and Jeff Jones and is trained by Heath Taylor.
In the Winter Championship trials, Empressum set the fastest qualifying time of 19.47 seconds, while Apollitical Pence was timed in 19.61 seconds, good enough for the third-fastest time among 10 qualifiers. The first six finishers from the first trial and first four from the second trial advanced to the final.
Apollitical Pence and Empressum are the only millionaires in the field. Apollitical Pence has won 18 of 36 starts and earned $1,714,735, while Empressum has won 18 of 24 starts and earned $1,625,525.
The Winter Championship is the nation’s first major race for older Quarter Horses of the year, and the winner receives a berth to the Champion of Champions in December. Apollitical Pence, who won the 2020 and 2021 Champion of Champions, won the 2022 Winter Championship.
Arrossa has another contender in the Winter Championship in Scoops Dynasty, who was second by a nose to Empressum in the trials. Scoops Dynasty, a 4-year-old gelding, won the Los Alamitos Winter and Golden State derbies last February and August, and was second in the Los Alamitos Super Derby in November in his final start of 2022.
A win by any of the other seven runners would be an upset.
This is the major-stakes debut for London Toby, a 5-year-old gelding who won the First Down Dash Handicap at 400 yards by two lengths on Dec. 18, and was third by 1 1/2 lengths behind Empressum in the trials. London Toby has won 4 of 7 starts in a career that began in the fall of 2020.
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