Los Alamitos: Ochoa is the best longtime trainer Gilbreath has seen

In his historic career, Ochoa has won such races as the $2.4 million All American Futurity in 2011, and the $903,774 Rainbow Derby and $2.2 million All American Derby in 2012, all at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico.

But it was Ochoa’s performance in his California debut in Sunday’s $150,000 Los Alamitos Championship that left veteran trainer Sleepy Gilbreath and jockey Roy Baldillez amazed.

“That was one of his best races,” Baldillez said of the 4-year-old gelding. “He left there running. He ran a full race and the time was pretty fast.”

In the Los Alamitos Championship, Ochoa was the even-money favorite. He led throughout, winning the 440-yard race in 21.27 seconds with little urging from Baldillez.

Gilbreath, 67, trained Refrigerator in the early 1990s and said Ochoa is the best he has seen.

“I’ve been training for 50 years and it took me 50 years to find Ochoa,” he said.

Ochoa has earned $2,762,615, a record for career earnings by a Quarter Horse.

The win in the Los Alamitos Championship gave Ochoa an automatic berth to the $750,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos on Dec. 14.

“We wanted to get him into the Champion of Champions,” Gilbreath said. “That was our goal.”

Ochoa held a berth to the 2012 Champion of Champions through his win in the All American Derby but was not sent to California. He was given a break last winter. The Los Alamitos Championship was his third start of the year, preceded by a second in the Remington Park Championship and a win in the minor Mr. Jet Moore Handicap at Ruidoso Downs.

Ochoa will not race again until the Champion of Champions. The winners of nine major stakes through the year are awarded automatic berths for the 10-horse field, with at least one berth available from a time trial on Nov. 23.

Ochoa was the sixth horse to earn a berth in the Champion of Champions, joined by Rylees Boy (who won the Los Alamitos Winter Championship), Priceless Feature (Remington Park Championship), Last to Fire (Vessels Maturity), Feature Hero (All American Derby), and Check N Fetch (Mildred Vessels Handicap). The winners of three races in November earn berths for the Champion of Champions.

Rylees Boy was fourth in the Los Alamitos Championship. Priceless Feature finished sixth in his first start since the Remington Park Championship.