Freaky stretches win streak to seven

Freaky extended his winning streak to seven races and won his fifth Grade 1 in that span in Saturday's $228,450 Los Alamitos Winter Championship for older Quarter Horses.

The victory gave the 5-year-old gelding an automatic berth in the $750,000 Champion of Champions in December, a race he won last year en route to the 2009 World Champion title.

Freaky ($2.60) had little trouble winning the 400-yard Winter Championship. Breaking from the rail under regular rider Francisco Rubio, Freaky trailed Blues Man Too by a half-length after 100 yards but took control of the race through the final 200 yards and won by 1 1/4 lengths over Separate Bet. Jess You and I, winner of the 2008 Champion of Champions, finished third in the field of nine.

Freaky was timed in a stakes record 19.24 seconds.

Trainer Adan Farias said after the race that he intends to give Freaky a rest until late summer. Owned by Armando Aguirre, Freaky has won 11 of 25 starts and $745,549.

The rail was a productive post in major stakes over the weekend. On Friday, Headhunter won his first stakes in the $201,750 Los Alamitos Winter Derby.

Ridden by G.R. Carter, Headhunter closed well in the final 100 yards of the 400-yard race to win by a half-length over 2-5 favorite Princelike. Hoist Mission, a three-time stakes winner last year, finished third in the field of nine..

Headhunter was timed in 19.32 seconds, winning for the fourth time in his eight-race career.

Last fall, Headhunter was second in the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association Futurity. Owned by Jose Ramon Sandoval and trained by Jose Flores, Headhunter has earned $169,005.