Quirky targets fifth straight stakes win in Mildred Vessels

Quirky, winner of the $100,000 Charger Bar Handicap for fillies and mares in January, will be favored to win her fifth consecutive stakes Sunday in the $100,000 Mildred Vessels Handicap for Quarter Horse fillies and mares at Los Alamitos.

The race has major ramifications for the fall. The winner of the Mildred Vessels receives a fees-paid berth to the $600,000 Champion of Champions at 440 yards Dec. 12, a race that plays a pivotal role in year-end championship voting.

Quirky drew the outside post in a field of 10 and will be ridden by Carlos Huerta. The 4-year-old Quirky races for Los Alamitos track owner Ed Allred and is trained by James Glenn Jr.

The filly’s winning streak began last December with a victory in the Grade 1 Southern California Derby. After the Charger Bar, Quirky won the Ivan Ashment Handicap in June, and the California Breeders’ Matron Stakes in July.

Quirky has won 6 of 13 stars and earned $272,098. She faces a tough field in the Mildred Vessels. The other runners include Significant Heart, who won the 2014 Mildred Vessels; The Streakin Clean, winner of two stakes this year; and Jess Cuz, who was second in the Golden State Derby in August.

The Mildred Vessels is the only race restricted to fillies and mares that provides an automatic berth to the Champion of Champions.

Four horses have earned berths to the Champion of Champions this year with major stakes wins – Matabari (Los Alamitos Winter Championship), Dashin Brown Streak (Remington Park Championship), Far Niente (Vessels Maturity), and Moonist (Go Man Go Handicap).