Last spring, Tim Yakteen received the sort of phone call every trainer enjoys from a client. Owners Pierre and Leslie Amestoy had bought a pair of 2-year-olds in Florida that were bound for Yakteen’s California stable. The team was Practical Move, the winner of Saturday’s Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity; and Blessed Touch, who was second in the Desi Arnaz Stakes at Del Mar last month. “They’ve been in this business a long time,” Yakteen said on Sunday. “They’ve got a good eye for a horse.” Practical Move ($23.20) scored an upset win in the $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity at 1 1/16 miles, a win that moved the colt firmly onto the list of West Coast-based Triple Crown candidates. He earned an 88 Beyer Speed  Figure, a point less than the figure he earned while finishing second to the flashy Cave Rock in his debut. Ridden by Ramon Vazquez, Practical Move rallied on the rail through the final three furlongs to win the Los Alamitos Futurity by 3 1/4 lengths over Carmel Road. :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! “He’s a big horse, he’s developing,” Yakteen said. “We had a good trip. He ran dynamite.” Yakteen said Practical Move will be rested in coming weeks, during the early portion of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting. Races such as the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 4 and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles on April 8 will be considered. They are the top preps for the Triple Crown in California. The Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs is May 6. “The last 60 days coming up to the Derby, that’s when you validate your chances,” Yakteen said. “We’d like to give him a breather. That was his fifth race this year. We’ll plan a couple of starts” before the Triple Crown, Yakteen said. Practical Move, by Practical Joke, has won 2 of 5 starts and earned $194,200, nearly equaling his purchase price of $230,000. Practical Move was third in the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes at seven furlongs at Del Mar on Nov. 20 in his stakes debut, and was the fourth choice in a field of five in the Los Alamitos Futurity. The Los Alamitos Futurity was the first time Practical Move was first past the finish line. Practical Move finished second to Fort Bragg in a maiden race at a mile at Santa Anita on Oct. 1, and was promoted to first when Fort Bragg was disqualified and placed second for causing interference. Yakteen said Practical Move has improved in the last 60 days. “His maiden race against Fort Bragg was a good race,” he said. “I was hoping to see a little bit more.” Fort Bragg finished third in the Los Alamitos Futurity, one of three runners in the small field trained by Bob Baffert, who also started Carmel Road and Arabian Lion, who faded to finish last of five at odds of 2-5. Baffert has won the Los Alamitos Futurity 13 times at Hollywood Park and Los Alamitos. He won the first seven runnings at Los Alamitos from 2014-2020. Arabian Lion’s loss left jockey John Velazquez puzzled. On Saturday, Velazquez said Arabian Lion had no response when challenged at the end of the backstretch. “I thought I’d wait for the horses to come to him and he’d engage, but he never did,” Velazquez said. The last five winners of the Los Alamitos Futurity have combined to win 13 stakes. McKinzie, who was promoted from second to first in the 2017 Los Alamitos Futurity following the disqualification of Solomini, won six stakes, and was second in the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita. Improbable was the champion older male of 2020, two years after winning the Los Alamitos Futurity. Thousand Words, the 2019 winner, later won two stakes, while 2020 winner Spielberg was later stakes-placed. Slow Down Andy won the 2021 Los Alamitos Futurity and has won two stakes this year. He was third in the BC Dirt Mile at Keeneland last month, and is a candidate for the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs at Santa Anita on Dec. 26. Where Practical Move fits among those recent winners will be better known next year. “It’s a key race,” Yakteen said. “It’s always exciting to look at the potential prospects for the 3-year-old campaign. I think the futurity has had plenty of prominent 3-year-olds and hopefully the trend won’t change.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.