Favorite Honey takes down Governor's Cup Derby on four-stakes card

Favorite Honey won his second six-figure stakes in a minor upset in Sunday’s $175,000 Governor’s Cup Derby at Los Alamitos, overcoming a bumping incident at the start.

Ridden by Armando Cervantes, Favorite Honey ($7.80) finished a half-length in front of 5-1 Watch Out in a field of 10. She Goes Up, the 9-10 favorite, had a troubled start and finished fifth in the 400-yard race, beaten three-quarters of a length.

A gelding, Favorite Honey was timed in 19.85 seconds, winning for the seventh time in his 13th start. Last October, Favorite Honey won the $320,000 Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association Breeders’ Futurity for Five Livestock Company and Steve Wright and trainer Monty Arrossa.

Favorite Honey has earned $357,988.

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There were four stakes at Los Alamitos on Sunday. Earlier on the program, Up and Atem ($18) won his first stakes in the $100,000 Spencer Childers Championship for older horses at 400 yards.

Ridden by Cervantes, Up and Atem, 4, won by a head over even-money favorite Monopolist, finishing 400 yards in 19.65 seconds.

Owned by Ed Allred and trained by Scott Willoughby, Up and Atem has won 4 of 15 starts and earned $193,151. On July 3, Up and Atem was a well-beaten third to Empressum in the Vessels Maturity, the leading race of the summer for older horses at Los Alamitos. Empressum was the Quarter Horse champion 3-year-old in 2021.

Kiss Thru Fire, the champion aged mare of 2021, won her third stakes of 2022 in Sunday’s $40,000 California Breeders’ Matron Stakes under jockey Jesus Ayala. Kiss Thru Fire ($2.40) had a comfortable lead throughout the 400-yard race and won by a half-length over La Estrella Corona in 19.77 seconds.

Trained by Juan Aleman for Kirk Gentry, the 5-year-old Kiss Thru Fire has won 12 of 30 starts and earned $658,025.

Nymphette remained unbeaten in two starts after winning her stakes debut in the $25,000 California Debutante Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Ridden by Henry Lopez for Allred and trainer James Glenn Jr., Nymphette ($5.20) won by a neck over 5-2 La Beverly Hills.