Golden State winner Whizkey Glasses can double up in Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity

A year ago, Whizkey Glasses was proving difficult to break as a yearling. Owner Matt Dunn recalled earlier this month that Whizkey Glasses was so cantankerous that he had to be sedated to be shod.

Whizkey Glasses was a colt then. Whizkey Glasses is now a gelding.

A year removed from those antics and well into his racing career, Whizkey Glasses has a chance to become the first horse to win the Golden State Million and Los Alamitos Two Million futurities since the filly Flash and Roll in 2018.

Last Sunday, Whizkey Glasses won the 10th of 14 400-yard trials for Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity by three lengths. Whizkey Glasses, trained by Monty Arrossa, was timed in 19.74 seconds, good enough for the second of 10 qualifying times. Only the well-regarded gelding Bomb Cyclone was quicker, winning the sixth trial by four lengths in 19.56 seconds for trainer Chris O’Dell.

The $2,036,825 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity will be run Dec. 12.

Los Alamitos has had its current schedule of three seven-figure futurities since 1995. The series begins with the Ed Burke Million Futurity in June, followed by the Golden State Million in early November and the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity in December.

No horse has swept the three races. The runners prominent in the Burke in early summer are seldom as good – or even active – at the end of the year. By year’s end, the Golden State Million and Los Alamitos Two Million futurities fields include late-developing runners and shippers raced at prominent tracks such as Remington Park in the spring or Ruidoso Downs in the summer.

In September at Ruidoso Downs, Whizkey Glasses was fifth in the $200,000 All American Juvenile, the consolation race for the $3 million futurity. Last year, Apollitical Gold was third in the All American Futurity and won the Golden State Million. Apollitical Gold was later third in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity.

Of the 10 qualifiers for this year’s Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity, four were raced at Remington Park or Ruidoso Downs.

Bomb Cyclone, owned by Connie Rosenthal, was fifth in a division of the All American Futurity trials at 1-2 on Aug. 21, losing all chance in the 440-yard race after a poor start. He did not race again until Sunday’s electrifying win, his Los Alamitos debut.

Bomb Cyclone has won 2 of 4 starts, which equals the fewest number of races among the qualifiers for the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity.

Whizkey Glasses has won 6 of 8 starts and earned $523,404, by far the highest earnings of the qualifiers.

Chizum, who won the 12th trial by 2 1/2 lengths, set the 10th qualifying time of 20.03 seconds. Trained by Jose Flores, Chizum was fourth in the Ed Burke, sixth in the All American Juvenile, and fifth in the Golden State Million. The gelding is the only horse in this year’s Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity field to qualify for all three of the track’s seven-figure futurities.