Favorite Illusion drawn outside in the clear

Outside post positions are a good fit for Favorite Illusion, the 3-year-old gelding who starts in an allowance race at 330 yards Saturday at Los Alamitos.

Trained by Juan Aleman, Favorite Illusion has won 2 of 8 starts. In both of his wins, each in races at 300 yards, Favorite Illusion started from the outside post in small fields – a maiden special weight race last June and an allowance race April 10.

Those are the only races in which Favorite Illusion has drawn an outside post. In Saturday’s ninth race, Favorite Illusion has drawn the outside in a field of five and is one of three runners in the field who won their most recent starts.

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On April 10, Favorite Illusion had a clean start and prevailed by a length under jockey Carlos Huerta, who has the mount Saturday. In early March, Huerta rode Favorite Illusion for the first time, finishing third in a division of the El Primero Del Ano Derby trials behind Tell Cartel, who returned to win the final.

Saturday, Favorite Illusion’s main rival is Bono Is Good, who is drawn in the post adjacent to Favorite Illusion. Trained by Scott Willoughby, Bono Is Good won an allowance race at 330 yards on March 29, his second win in three starts this year. Bono Is Good started from the rail in a four-horse field and won by a neck.

Favorite Mongoose, who is drawn in the middle of the field, won a $20,000 claimer at 350 yards on April 11, overcoming a troubled start. He was claimed by current trainer Valentin Zamudio for $12,500 on Feb. 23 after finishing last of six in a race at 300 yards. Favorite Mongoose was unable to overcome a poor start in that race.

Jessafamouslady and Up for Speed start from the inside post positions in Saturday’s allowance race. Jessafamouslady, trained by Mike Robbins, was eighth of nine in the $403,500 Los Alamitos Oaks, finishing well behind stablemate Dreams Divine.

Up for Speed, trained by Willoughby, has finished fourth in two allowance races this year. Last year, Up for Speed was seventh in the $365,000 Governor’s Cup Futurity in July and sixth in the $345,000 Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association Breeders’ Futurity in October.

The nine-race program at Los Alamitos begins at 6 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.