Los Alamitos: Dont Walk Peacefully on the improve

Dont Walk Peacefully was a quiet fourth in his debut in a maiden race for 2-year-olds for trainer Jose De La Torre at Los Alamitos in August.

When he won his second start, which came last Sunday in a division of the time trials for the $202,100 El Primero Del Ano Derby, a lot had changed.

De La Torre is gone, denied stalls by Los Alamitos management for a series of clenbuterol positives in recent years. Dont Walk Peacefully is now trained by Danny Montes and has been gelded since his debut.

De La Torre and his brother, Gustavo, were listed as owners when the gelding debuted, but he raced in the trials for World Champion Racing Stable, which is the nom de course of Gustavo De La Torre, Montes said.

Montes, whose stable has grown from 16 horses in early 2013 to 32 this spring, began training Dont Walk Peacefully in late January. The gelding has developed quickly, he said.

“He seems more mature,” Montes said on Thursday. “He’s all business now.”

Dont Walk Peacefully and Dimes and Nicks, another runner owned by World Champion Racing Stable and trained by Montes, are leading contenders for the $202,100 El Primero Del Ano Derby on April 6.

The race is run a day after the $223,800 La Primera Del Ano Derby for fillies. Both races are run at 400 yards, and are a springtime focus for 3-year-olds. The next Quarter Horse Derby at Los Alamitos is the Governor’s Cup Derby for California-breds on July 26. The next open derby at Los Alamitos is the $250,000 Golden State Derby on Aug. 24.

Dont Walk Peacefully ran 400 yards in 19.70 seconds in the El Primero Del Ano Derby trials, setting the third-fastest qualifying time. Dimes and Nicks overcame a stumble at the start to win his trial race in 19.60 seconds.

Jose De La Torre trained Dimes and Nicks in 2013, a season in which the gelding’s only win in seven starts came in a maiden race in August.

Another notable qualifier for the El Primero Del Ano Derby is trial race winner Moonist, who was fourth in the Los Alamitos Winter Derby on Feb. 15.

The fastest qualifier for the La Primera Del Ano Derby is the undefeated Glitter In My Face. She won her trial on March 15 by 2 1/2 lengths, her first start since winning the Kindergarten Futurity last May.