Far Niente fastest in Vessels Maturity trials

Far Niente, the winner of the Golden State Derby last August, is the fastest qualifier for the $163,100 Vessels Maturity at Los Alamitos on July 6, a race that will include Last to Fire, the 2013 World Champion Running Quarter Horse.

Last to Fire won the 2013 Vessels Maturity but was beaten for the first time in four starts when second to Jess Being Valiant in a division of the Vessels trials last Sunday. Jess Being Valiant finished a neck in front of Last to Fire in the first of three trial races, running 400 yards in 19.73 seconds. Last to Fire was timed in 19.78 seconds, good enough for the third-fastest qualifying time among the 10 finalists.

The 4-year-old Far Niente, who won the second division, was timed in 19.68 seconds. The Vessels time trial was the first start for Far Niente since a fourth in the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association Breeders’ Derby at Los Alamitos last October.

The Vessels Maturity is the leading race of the summer for older Quarter Horses at Los Alamitos. The winner will receive an automatic berth to the $750,000 Champion of Champions on Dec. 13, a race that Last to Fire won in 2013 to clinch his world championship.