World Champion Quarter Horse has new trainer

CYPRESS, Calif. – Last to Fire, the 2013 World Champion Quarter Horse, resumed training at Los Alamitos last month and is on schedule for the Vessels Maturity trials in June, new trainer Sergio Fiscal said on Thursday.

Last to Fire, unraced since winning the Champion of Champions last December, is scheduled to have a 220-yard workout this weekend, the first of two timed workouts in advance of his 2014 campaign. Fiscal said Last to Fire will have a 350-yard workout in early June before the Vessels Maturity trials on June 15. The final, with a projected purse of $200,000, is on the evening of Sunday, July 6.

Fiscal, 29, takes over the training of Last to Fire for owners Jesus Avila and Jesus Cuevas after previous trainer Jose de la Torre was told to leave Los Alamitos after a series of clenbuterol positives in late 2013. Earlier this year, Last to Fire was based at a local farm before joining Fiscal’s stable in March. Clenbuterol is a bronchodilator not allowed to appear in post-race tests.

Last to Fire, 5, has won 8 of 19 starts and earned $1,087,545. In 2013, he won 5 of 6 starts, including the Vessels Maturity in July and the Go Man Go Handicap in September before the Champion of Champions, a race that plays a pivotal role in year-end championship voting.

By Walk Thru Fire, Last to Fire is expected to have a similar campaign this year.

“They laid him off a bit and he came back in good shape,” Fiscal said. “Hopefully, he can come back and do what he did.”

Fiscal has 16 horses, having built up his stable in the last year following a 90-day suspension from late 2011 to March 2012 for a clenbuterol positive found in Freaky when he won the 2011 Go Man Go Handicap. During the suspension, Fiscal worked at a local farm and later as an assistant trainer in New Mexico.

◗ Los Alamitos stewards issued a ruling earlier this month ordering the redistribution of the purse of the third race from March 21 after race winner Signature Rocket tested positive for clenbuterol.

Signature Rocket won a $4,000 claiming race with a winner’s share of $3,355. A 4-year-old filly, Signature Rocket is trained by Antonio Soto for La Botella Racing Stable, which was ordered to forfeit the purse.

Soto could face a fine or suspension from Los Alamtos stewards, pending a hearing on May 9.