Heza Dasha Fire good as ever for Golden State Derby

Heza Dasha Fire was the champion 2-year-old Quarter Horse gelding of 2014 on the basis of wins in the Ed Burke and Golden State Million futurities at Los Alamitos. When he made his 2015 debut in the Golden State Derby trials at Los Alamitos on Aug. 9, his performance suggested Heza Dasha Fire was back to peak form. He zoomed 400 yards in 19.63 seconds, setting the fastest qualifying time with a win by 1 1/2 lengths.

The $180,200 final for the Golden State Derby is Sunday evening, and Heza Dasha Fire will be a short-priced favorite to win the third major stakes of his career.

Owned by Don and Kathy Meneely of Kennewick, Wash., Heza Dasha Fire has won 7 of 8 starts and earned $966,256. His only loss was a fourth-place finish in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity last December, a setback that prevented him from sweeping of the three major futurities at Los Alamitos and the accompanying $1 million bonus.

The loss in the Los Alamitos Million kept Heza Dasha Fire from claiming the title of overall champion 2-year-old Quarter Horse. His comeback win under jockey Cruz Mendez left trainer Jose Antonio Flores confident Heza Dasha Fire will run well on Sunday evening.

“Cruz flagged him a few times just to make sure he knew that there was still work to be done,” Flores said on trial night. “The horse looked good.”

Heza Dasha Fire was given a break after his 2-year-old campaign and did not undergo any operation, according to Don Meneely. For Sunday’s final, Heza Dasha Fire will break from post 9 in a field of 10. Mendez has the mount.

There were two divisions of the Golden State Derby on Aug. 9. Run By You overcame a stumble at the start to win the other division in 19.92 seconds. One of seven fillies in the final, Run By You has yet to win a stakes in her 10-race career.