Willoughby's stable takes off, has Flight Queen on Friday

Boosted by support from track owner Ed Allred, Scott Willoughby is the leading Quarter Horse trainer at Los Alamitos this year.

Through Sunday, Willoughby had won 32 races since the start of the season in late December, two more than Jaime Gomez.

Runners such as Circle City and Flight Queen have pushed Willoughby’s private stable to the top of the standings.

Circle City won a division of the Golden State Derby trials on Sunday and is the fastest qualifier for the $204,200 final at 400 yards on Aug. 16.

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Flight Queen is a promising 2-year-old filly who starts in an allowance race for nonwinners of two at 330 yards in Friday’s sixth race. Flight Queen won a maiden special weight race at 300 yards in her second start on June 12 from an outside post in a field of eight. In Friday’s race, Flight Queen will start from the outside in a field of six that includes five fillies.

The lone male in the field is the gelding Watch Over Bella, a half-length winner of a maiden race at 330 yards on July 10 for trainer Jose Flores.

Leading rider Jesus Ayala has the mount on the promising filly Sweetie Cartel, who stormed to a two-length win in a 300-yard maiden race in the quick time of 15.52 seconds on July 5 in her third start.

Flight Queen will be ridden by Vinnie Bednar, who rides first call for Allred and Willoughby. Through Sunday, Ayala led the Quarter Horse jockeys with 46 wins, while Bednar ranked fourth with 36 wins.

In July, the team of Allred, Willoughby, and Bednar won the Vessels Maturity with the 4-year-old gelding Chocolatito and the Governor’s Cup Derby with Nomadic.

Circle City, a full brother to Nomadic, was second by a nose in the Golden State Million Futurity last November. The win in the Golden State Derby trial was the second in five starts this year for the gelding.

Circle City won a division of the Los Alamitos Winter Derby trials in January and was a troubled sixth in the final on Feb. 8 to Tell Cartel. In Sunday’s trial race, Circle City ($12.20) won by 1 1/4 lengths over 3-5 Tell Cartel, who had not raced since a win in the El Primero Del Ano Derby on March 29 at Los Alamitos.

Those two figure to dominate the betting in the final.