Wong sends out first starter at meet

The entire field for Friday’s fifth race at 870 yards at Los Alamitos consists of fillies and mares that have raced on daytime Thoroughbred circuits in Arizona or California.

The race is restricted to nonwinners of two and was designed for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses. No Quarter Horses were entered.

This is the continuation of a trend at Los Alamitos in recent weeks, following the temporary closure of Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita because of the coronavirus outbreak. Los Alamitos continues to race from Fridays through Sundays.

Six of the nine fillies entered in Friday’s fifth race have started at Santa Anita this year. The field will be limited to eight starters.

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The 3-year-old filly Ladies Luv Munny was winless in two starts at Del Mar last fall when trained by Doug O’Neill. Ladies Luv Munny won an $8,000 claimer for maidens at Golden Gate Fields last December in her first start for trainer Jonathan Wong.

Ladies Luv Munny is Wong’s first runner at the Los Alamitos evening meeting this year.

“There is nowhere else to run,” he said Wednesday morning.

Ladies Luv Munny was second by a head in a starter allowance at six furlongs March 27 at Golden Gate Fields after leading by 3 1/2 lengths with a furlong remaining. She is one of several fillies in Friday’s race that has shown speed.

The Last Ruler, trained by Jerry Wallace, won a maiden special weight race for California-bred fillies and mares at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf in a 40-1 upset Feb. 23 at Santa Anita and was fifth at 67-1 in an allowance race with a $20,000 claiming option over the same course and distance on March 22. She set the pace before fading in the final furlong.

Wallace’s stable is unbeaten in four 870-yard races at Los Alamitos this year.

Friday’s eight-race program begins at 9 p.m. Eastern, or 6 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com. The first five races are run at either 4 1/2 furlongs or 870 yards. The final three races are for Quarter Horses at 300 yards.

The seventh race is a maiden special weight for 2-year-olds that drew eight first-time starters. Fabulous N Rare and Jet Wings One, two of three fillies in the field, are likely to attract support following quick gate workouts in March.

Kingman Born, a colt purchased for $55,000 at the 2019 Los Alamitos equine sale, had a sharp 220-yard workout in 12.4 seconds from the gate March 21.