Overdue for a major win, Cattail Cove sets fastest qualifying time for Southern California Derby

Five times in his 15-race career, Cattail Cove has qualified for a six-figure futurity or derby only to be beaten in the final.

Cattail Cove’s best result in those races was a second in the $1.9 million Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity last December. The sixth attempt will come in the $154,550 Southern California Derby at Los Alamitos on Dec. 20.

Sunday, Cattail Cove set the fastest qualifying time of 19.79 seconds for the Southern California Derby, winning the first of five divisions of the 400-yard trials. The Southern California Derby is the last major race of the year for 3-year-olds.

Trained by Juan Aleman for Link Newcomb, Cattail Cove has won 4 of 15 starts and earned $470,132. All that is missing from his race record is an important stakes win.

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“He’s a good horse,” Aleman told Los Alamitos publicity. “He’s proved it since he was a 2-year-old.”

There was little separating the 10 qualifiers in terms of trial times. Mental Error, second in the $1.05 million Los Alamitos Super Derby on Nov. 8, set the 10th fastest time of 19.97 seconds winning the fourth trial.

Other prominent qualifiers are the first three finishers of the third division – the Aleman-trained Kiss Thru Fire, who was second in the All American Oaks at Ruidoso Downs in August; Circle City, the winner of the Golden State Derby in August; and Runforyourlife, who won the Golden State Million Futurity in 2019.

Kiss Thru Fire bumped with Circle City and Taco Twosday at the start, but recovered to win by a neck.

“She got sandwiched,” Aleman said. “I was a little worried when I saw her get bumped that bad. This filly has so much heart that it’s unbelievable. She’s always shown tons of run at the end. Her problem is she has so much trouble out of the gate.”

Kiss Thru Fire was seventh in the Super Derby after a poor start. She was bumped at the break of the All American Oaks and was beaten a length by the heavily favored Ratification.

Southern Wagon, third in the Rainbow Oaks at Ruidoso Downs in July, and Nomadic, who won the Governor’s Cup Derby at Los Alamitos in July, were the first two finishers of the final trial and earned berths in the final.

Nomadic, Circle City, and Just Be Real, the winner of the second trial in 19.89 seconds, are trained by Scott Willoughby for track owner Ed Allred.