Tell Cartel proves he's back in top form with Super Derby win

Tell Cartel won his third major race this year in Sunday’s $1,052,350 Los Alamitos Super Derby, earning an automatic berth to the $600,000 Champion of Champions on Dec. 12.

The Champion of Champions, run at 440 yards, annually draws an outstanding field of older horses and plays a pivotal role in year-end voting.

Tell Cartel has earned a place in the discussion for 3-year-old Quarter Horse champion with his win in Sunday’s Super Derby at 400 yards. Earlier this year, Tell Cartel won the Los Alamitos Winter Derby in February and the El Primero Del Ano Derby in March.

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In the spring, Tell Cartel underwent surgery to have a bone chip removed from a knee, according to owner and breeder Martha Wells.

Trained by Matt Fales, Tell Cartel lost three consecutive starts in August and September, but rebounded to win a division of the 400-yard Super Derby trials on Oct. 17, setting the fastest qualifying time of 19.59 seconds.

Sunday, Tell Cartel ($7.80) bumped with a rival at the start, but recovered quickly under jockey Eduardo Nicasio. Tell Cartel vied for the lead midway through the race and was best in the final 100 yards, pulling clear to win by a half-length over 18-1 Mental Error. Oatman Creek Senator (8-1) finished third in the field of 10.

Tell Cartel, a colt by Favorite Cartel, earned $428,547 for Wells, who goes by the name Mimi. In his career, Tell Cartel has won 8 of 18 starts and earned $700,386.

Tell Cartel was timed in 19.32 seconds in the Super Derby, aided by a 20-mile per hour tailwind.