Powerful Favorite likely to be just that in Los Alamitos Winter Derby

Four times last year, Powerful Favorite qualified for lucrative futurities at Los Alamitos. He won once, in the Governor’s Cup Futurity in July, but could finish no better than sixth in the other three races.

Now 3, Powerful Favorite is following the same career path this year. On Jan. 19, Powerful Favorite won a division of the Los Alamitos Winter Derby trials. The $198,700 final at 400 yards is Saturday. Powerful Favorite rates as the likely favorite in a field of 10.

Trained by Chris O’Dell for Rosenthal Ranches, Powerful Favorite set the fastest qualifying time in the time trials under jockey Eduardo Nicasio, who has the mount in the final. Powerful Favorite was timed in 19.78 seconds, finishing a length in front of Red Hawk Cartel, who also qualified for the final.

Powerful Favorite has won 4 of 10 starts and earned $321,461, by far the highest earnings among the finalists.

A gelding by Favorite Cartel, Powerful Favorite will break from post 6. His main rival is Mister Apollitical, a trial-race winner drawn directly to the inside. Trained by Terry Knight, Mister Apollitical was seventh in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity on Dec. 16, a race in which Powerful Favorite was sixth.

In the trials, Mister Apollitical was timed in 19.79 seconds and finished a half-length in front of Cole Man 47, who breaks from post 8 in the final. Trained by Paul Jones, Cole Man 47 won the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association Breeders’ Futurity in October.

Jones also runs Singles Cruise, a multiple stakes winner in Canada last year who won a division of the time trials in 19.96 seconds.