Stanley Cartel steps forward with Los Alamitos Championship

Stanley Cartel asserted his position as the leading older Quarter Horse at Los Alamitos with a narrow victory over Empressum and Jeriko in Saturday’s $100,000 Robert Boniface Los Alamitos Championship.

The favorite, Stanley Cartel ($4.40) won his debut at 440 yards in the Los Alamitos Championship, finishing a head in front of 5-2 Empressum, who won the 2023 running of the same race.

Jeriko, who beat Empressum when they were first and second in the 2024 Los Alamitos Championship, finished an unlucky third on Saturday, overcoming a poor start to miss by a neck. Jeriko was the 5-2 third choice.

Stanley Cartel, ridden by Armando Cervantes, was timed in 21.45 seconds. The win is likely to make Stanley Cartel the favorite in the nation’s leading race for 3-year-olds and older Quarter Horses, the $700,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos on Dec. 13.

Stanley Cartel won the Vessels Maturity at 400 yards in July, the track’s leading race of the summer for older runners.

Empressum won the Champion of Champions in 2022 and last year. The 2022 World Champion, Empressum was the champion aged gelding for the second time in his career in 2024. Jeriko was fourth as the favorite in the Champion of Champions last year after a troubled start.

To qualify for the Champion of Champions this year, Empressum and Jeriko must start in time trials on Nov. 16.

Stanley Cartel, a 4-year-old colt by Pyc Paint Your Wagon, has won 9 of 11 starts and earned $272,406 for owners Matt and Bendi Dunn and Weetona Stanley. Ramiro Castillo trains Stanley Cartel, a four-time stakes winner.

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