Jeriko has tricky post in Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship

Jeriko is the fastest qualifier for Sunday’s $135,400 Brad McKinzie Los Alamitos Winter Championship at 400 yards, the most recent high-profile role for the 4-year-old gelding.

Last November, Jeriko won the most prestigious race of his career in the $903,650 Los Alamitos Super Derby, one of the nation’s leading races for 3-year-old Quarter Horses, and followed with a good fourth by a length behind stablemates Flash Bak and Empressum in the $750,000 Champion of Champions against 3-year-olds and older on Dec. 9.

More than two months later, the loss looks even better. Flash Bak and Empressum returned to finish first and second in the $350,000 Championship at Sunland Park on Jan. 7.

Jeriko began his 2024 season with a trial race win for the Winter Championship on Jan. 28, finishing in 19.58 seconds.

Only 12 runners started in two trials on Jan. 28 to determine 10 finalists. Nine were entered for Sunday’s race. Nevada Charles, fourth behind the outsider Future Version in the first of two trials, was not entered.

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Jeriko, trained by Heath Taylor for owner and breeder Bobby Cox of Fort Worth, Texas, drew the inside post and will be favored. The inside is not a post Taylor prefers. He watched Jeriko drift to the inside in the Golden State Million Futurity in November 2022, the only other time the gelding started from that post.

“I don’t particularly like it with his running style,” Taylor said. “He’s a big finisher. I thought he should have won the Golden State Million, but he ducked in. He’s a year older and more mature.

“They’re not going to feel sorry for us. I’d rather he drew somewhere on the outside.”

The winner of the Winter Championship receives a berth to the $700,000 Champion of Champions in December. The purse was expected to be $1 million this year, but Los Alamitos announced earlier this month that the purse was reduced because of lower-than-expected participation in trials for major Quarter Horse races.

Jeriko’s leading rivals on Sunday are Scoops Dynasty and Take a Swig of This, both trained by Monty Arrossa.

Scoops Dynasty, a major stakes winner in 2022 and 2023, finished a neck behind Jeriko on Jan. 28 in his first start since ending up a troubled ninth in the Champion of Champions.

“If he breaks, he’ll be tough,” Arrossa said.

Take a Swig of This was fifth in the Champion of Champions, and last of six behind Jeriko in the trials on an evening in which he was not fitted with a tongue tie. Arrossa said a tongue tie will be utilized Sunday.

“We didn’t tie his tongue and I think it affected him,” Arrossa said. “If he runs back to his Champion of Champions, he’ll be super tough.”

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