LA Futurity (Grade 2) (KYD)- $200.000 Purse
LA- For Two Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
December 19, 2020

The LA Futurity is a great race that has been won by some great racehorses during its 17 year history. The likes of Five Fives, Mai Mia Bambina, and Timepiece have all earned the spoils of victory after a win here. While the race continues to boast an excellent field, it really is a far cry from what it used to be. The race, formerly known as the CC Futurity, had been held at HOL, and was a Grade 1 and offered a $750.000 purse when those greats won it. In 2014, it was moved to LA, and saw the purse cut to $500.000. Since then, there have only been more cuts, with the purse being dropped to its current $200.000 purse last year. Also last year, the race was downgraded to be a Grade 2. That race was won by Immoral, who has since gone on to win some much bigger races after finding his true calling on the grass. There are plenty of exciting horses in this field who can follow his lead, or maybe even the lead of the great Five Fives. Let’s look at it!

#1- Daniel Son Karate (Aer Stables, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- We start this off with a horse that I think is really flying under the radar right now, and that is even after winning the Grey Stakes last month. He has not really done anything wrong for his entire career just yet, with three wins in four starts. Unfortunately for him, he was on the wrong end of a cluster finish in the Grade 1 Champagne, which prevented him from running in the BC Juvenile. Should be ready to run another big race here.

#2- Howl Of The Hound (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Another talented two year old out of the Mb Stables collection that we can also consider underrated at this point. After all, she has been perfect for her career, winning all three of the races that she has been in. Most recently, she won the seven furlong Hope Stakes, a Grade 3 at DMR. Based on the way that she has run in each of her starts, I have no concerns at all about her stretching out over a mile here. This makes her another strong contender.

#3- Holy Water (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by N Juarez)- This gelding underwent the snip on the 7th, so the angle of a first time gelding is always something to take into consideration within our game. He has won twice in four starts, but was a little flat in the $125.000 Nyquist last month, and that played a big role in the decision to geld. Has a tough task ahead of him here, especially with those two to his inside, but the potential is there.

#4- The Gypsy King (Mb Stables, ridden by D Davis)- Entry number two for Mb Stables as he looks to win the stake for the fourth time. He comes out of that same Nyquist race that was mentioned with Holy Water, but The Gypsy King scored the win in the event. It would be his third victory in four starts so far. In the LA Futurity, he runs graded for the first time, and will stretch it out, though he has shown he can handle that. I feel a little better about his stablemate, but certainly he can score the win, too.

#5- Get Set Gone (Serenity Stables, ridden by M J Sanchez)- The gelding comes off of wins in his last two races, and his last win was particularly impressive. In that, he beat a field of fellow CA-breds in the GS Juvenile at DMR with an excellent stretch run. That race is at seven furlongs, so going longer, and this is the first time he will run more than a mile, seems like something that would come natural to him. He hasn’t always been great in the races he has been in, though, and that does make me lean towards a couple others over him.

#6- Judicial Decision (Nakamura Stables, ridden by V R Carrasco)- Nakamura Stables gives this colt a big vote of confidence as he enters him into the LA Futurity off a five length win at FL last month. That was against three others, and where he broke his maiden. If he wants a good test for him, he will certainly get it here. Won’t be my pick here, but if he did win, he might become a pick of mine often.

#7- Tempestuous (Mb Stables, ridden by A Beschizza)- This horse has spent much of his career thus far running against FL-breds. That can be a good thing when you have a chance to run in the great stakes that can be run with that condition, but he did come up short in the open that mattered the most, the In Reality. Since then, he has had two wins against miniscule fields. I like his works, but he is my third favorite Mb Stables horse in the field. Though it would not be the first time I said that and they ended up winning.

#8- Tko (Fractious, ridden by E Jaramillo)- Here is another horse where we need to take into consideration the point about them being a first time gelding. For Tko, the snip came after the BC Juvenile, where he was eighth. To get there, you have to be doing something right, and it was a win in the Grade 2 Best Pal followed by a respectable fourth place effort in the always tough Grade 1 Hopeful, that did the trick. He’s struggled since Fractious tried to get a mile out of him, so maybe the geld is going to help with that.

#9- Speter (Estero Farms, ridden by R M Hernandez)- After three second place finishes to start his career, this colt by Foresight was able to break his maiden in his last start, coming at WO. That would also be the first race where he was able to run over a mile. If the SRF for that race does not stand out at you, his work on the second of December should. Therefore, he has shown that he earned his spot in this field, but against several proven entities at this level, I have to favor them.

#10- Extremo (Acber Farms, ridden by J Stein)- We saw him last month, finishing second in the BC Juvenile Turf at KEE, and now the trainer will try to see if that success can translate back onto the main track as he enters the TC trail. His only win in five starts did come on the dirt, but it was early and not really that indicative of what he might do here. If he can successfully convert that grass talent, then he will become a wild card in this field. In looking at his works, I am feeling good about that, but I cannot unsee that his worst recent mile work was the one that came here at LA. One certainty about him: he knows how to handle an outside post. Maybe one day he won’t have to start from the double digits again.

#11- Locamotive (Aer Stables, ridden by S Ryan)- The horse that makes me have to undo autocorrect every time is off to a good start in his career, scoring a big win in the Grade 1 Hopeful at SAR in early September. He was not able to carry that over into success in the BC Juvenile, however, but still respectably finished in the middle of the field even if it does not mean a piece of the purse. One of two runners from that race to make it to the LA Futurity, though not any of the frontrunners will. I like his stablemate a little more.

#12- Straight And Narrow (Nakamura Stables, ridden by G Franco)- Getting to start on the outside, the gelding makes a jump forward into stakes company for the first time. He was a winner in his last race, which was an allowance at CD last month where he was also a first time gelding. It was a sharp looking effort, and earned him the jump forward.

Prediction: 1-2-5-10

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES