Tell Cartel needs to improve his time in El Primero Del Ano Derby

The only drawback to Tell Cartel’s win in a division of the El Primero Del Ano Derby time trials on March 8 at Los Alamitos was the final time.

Tell Cartel was bumped by rivals in adjacent gates at the start of the 400-yard race, but overcame the trouble to win by 1 1/4 lengths as the 3-10 favorite. He was timed in 19.85 seconds, good enough to earn a berth in the $213,300 final on Sunday evening.

Tell Cartel, who won the Los Alamitos Winter Derby in February for owner Martha Wells and trainer Matt Fales, set the third-fastest time of the 10 qualifiers. The problem is two of his main rivals – trial race winners Flokie and You Can Run – had faster times.

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Flokie, who won the $1,070,000 Ed Burke Million Futurity last June when trained by Jose Flores, won a division of the El Primero trials in 19.72, setting the fastest qualifying time. The trial race was Flokie’s first start for trainer Lindolfo Diaz, the son of co-owner Francisco Diaz.

“He broke like a rocket,” Lindolfo Diaz told Los Alamitos publicity the night of the trials. “He had not broken like that in a long time, perhaps since his first or second start. He needed the race. This should get him a little bit tighter for the final.”

Flokie recently switched stables after Flores was suspended for 30 days, from March 1-30, after one of his recent starters tested positive for methamphetamine. Flores was originally given a 45-day penalty, but the penalty was reduced provided Flores had his employees undergo drug tests, according to a ruling published by Los Alamitos stewards.

Flokie, who has won 5 of 8 starts, finished third in the $1.9 million Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity in December for Flores.

You Can Run, trained by Mike Casselman, was second in the Winter Derby and won a division of the time trials in 19.75, despite lugging to the outside with about 100 yards remaining. You Can Run is the only one of the four trial race winners yet to win a stakes.

The list of top contenders includes Sass Go Blue, who won the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association Breeders’ Futurity last October, a race in which Flokie finished a troubled third.

Sass Go Blue won a division of the El Primero trials in 19.89. In February, Sass Go Blue was fourth in the Winter Derby.