Mr PYC to You (60-1) makes history in Champion of Champions

CYPRESS, Calif. - Mr PYC to You scored the biggest upset in the history of the $750,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos on Saturday, catching 6-5 favorite Heza Dasha Fire in the final 40 yards for an upset win at 60-1.

Mr PYC to You joined the field on Wednesday, the day entries were taken, after another horse was disqualified for a hair follicle test that showed the presence of clenbuterol.

Ridden by Carlos Huerta, Mr PYC to You ($123) was the longest-priced winner of a race first run in 1972. Breaking from the outside in a field of 10, Mr PYC to You was third after the first 100 yards and moved into second midway through the 440-yard race.

Mr PYC to You won by a half-length in 21.61 seconds. Heza Dasha Fire, the winner of the 2015 Champion of Champions and the runner-up in the 2016 race, seemed to shorten stride in the final 50 yards but held second, a head in front of Zoomin for Spuds, the winner of the 2016 Champion of Champions.

Mr PYC to You and Heza Dasha Fire are trained by Jose Flores. Mr PYC to You was the longest shot in the field. Of the $72,373 bet to win on the race, $968 was bet on Mr PYC to You.

A 4-year-old Oklahoma-bred by PYC Paint Your Wagon, Mr PYC to You has won 6 of 20 starts and earned $473,686. The Champion of Champions was the colt’s first stakes win.

Mr PYC to You finished third in a time trial for the Champion of Champions on Nov. 19, and was allowed to start after Firing Tools showed the presence of clenbuterol. The medication is not allowed to appear at any level in Quarter Horses racing at Los Alamitos.

Mr PYC to You races for Flores, who owns 33 percent, with majority owners Ron and Denise Van Amburgh of Waco, Texas.

Huerta was already having a big weekend before his first career victory in the Champion of Champions.

Friday, Huerta guided Mr Apollitical Dash ($61) to a surprise win in the $175,300 Southern California Derby at 400 yards.

Mr Apollitical Dash led throughout the 400 yards to win by a head over Kissed by an Eagle, the 7-2 second choice. Lotta Blues Man, the 2-5 favorite, could manage only third after being away slightly slowly at the break.

Lotta Blues Man finished about three-quarters of a length behind Mr Apollitical Dash, who was timed in 19.84 seconds.

Owned by Rancho El Cabresto, Inc., and trained by Juan Aleman, Mr Apollitical Dash has won 4 of 12 starts and earned $201,124. He was fifth in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity in 2016 in his only previous major stakes appearance.