Rock You joins cast for Champion of Champions

Rock You, the winner of the All American Gold Cup at Ruidoso Downs in September, qualified for the $600,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos on Dec. 12 after winning a $15,000 time trial last Sunday.

Rock You is one of four runners from the trial race to qualify for the 440-yard Champion of Champions, a race that plays a pivotal role in year-end voting for Quarter Horse championships. Seperate Interest, Well and Good, and French Fury – the second- through fourth-place finishers in the Z. Wayne Griffin Directors Trial on Sunday – also have earned berths in the Champion of Champions.

They will be joined in the race by Far Niente, Daytona B, Dashin Brown Streak, Heza Dasha Fire, Moonist, and Quirky, all major stakes winners this year. Moonist, the winner of the Los Alamitos Championship in October, will be favored over Heza Dasha Fire, who won the Los Alamitos Super Derby on Oct. 31.

If one of the finalists is withdrawn before entries are taken Dec. 9, then Solid Connection will be given a berth. Solid Connection was fifth in the time trial last Sunday.

Rock You, who races for Reliance Ranches and is trained by Jaime Gomez, won the trial by three-quarters of a length over Seperate Interest. Rock You was fourth to Moonist in the Los Alamitos Championship.

This will be the first running of the Champion of Champions since 2013. The race was not held last year after track officials expressed concern about widespread abuse of the breathing medication clenbuterol throughout the nation.

Earlier this year, Los Alamitos enacted tougher rules for clenbuterol, conducting hair-follicle tests that can determine whether the medication has been administered in recent months. Clenbuterol is banned for use in Quarter Horses in California.