LOS ALAMITOS : Two Winning La Primera Trainers Try for an Upset of Corona Chick

The difficult task of upsetting Corona Chick in Saturday night’s La Primera Del Ano Derby has fallen into the hands of two trainers, Bob Gilbert and Russell Harris, who have trained La Primera winners in the last few years.

Gilbert conditioned 1989 winner Teller Queen, and Harris had 1987 winner Florentine and 1985 winner Artesia. The pair, who have also trained champion 3-year-old fillies in the past, will be represented Saturday by the second- and third-fastest qualifiers to the $140,000 race for 3-year-old fillies.

Gilbert, who also trained Jaimie Jay, the 3-year-old filly champion in 1980, is the trainer of Le Executrix, who has won four of 14 starts. “The only thing you can do is leave there as fast as you can and try to lead as far as you can,” Gilbert said. “It’s a horse race, anything can happen. (Le Executrix) is a nice filly, but she’s not as good as Corona Chick.”

Corona Chick has won nine races in a row, including four futurities last year, and is expected to be named champion 2-year-old of 1991 next week by the American Quarter Horse Assn. She set the fastest qualifying time last Thursday, running 400 yards in 19.79 seconds, while easily beating Le Executrix. Her trial time was also considerably faster than Easily A Rogue’s, the other trial winner, who is trained by Harris and was clocked in 20.04 seconds.

Easily A Rogue was third behind Corona Chick in the Oct. 26 Kindergarten, but that doesn’t concern Harris, who also bred and co-owns Easily A Rogue. “This filly got a good, clean trip (in the trials), and she’s starting to look like her old self,” Harris said.

Easily A Rogue hasn’t had much luck in the last six months. She was the 13th fastest qualifier for the All-American Futurity, barely missing a spot in the $2-million final. In the Dash For Cash trials last November, she reared in her stall just as the gate opened, and was left hopelessly behind. In last month’s Golden State Futurity finals, she was blocked soon after the start and finished ninth in a field of 10. Harris thinks that Easily A Rogue could pull an upset Saturday.

The La Primera Del Ano Derby will share the spotlight Saturday, closing night of the 106-night quarter horse meeting, with the El Primero Del Ano Derby for 3-year-old colts and geldings. Dash Ta Fame, who won last month’s Golden State Futurity, is the top qualifier after scoring his fourth victory in six starts in last Thursday’s trials. He is trained by Blane Schvaneveldt and will be ridden by Henry Garcia, who has won the first three quarter horse stakes run this year.

“(Dash Ta Fame) is getting better each time,” Schvaneveldt said. “He was real green when he first came here (last fall), but he’s starting to do everything like a good horse now.”

Other contenders include Late To Bed, also from the Schvaneveldt barn and second in the trials behind Dash Ta Fame, and Toltecas Lil Smash, a gelding from the Rodney Hart barn who won the other trial despite a 10-week layoff.

The controversy surrounding the disqualification of Speedy Lunch in Friday’s $25,000 Bull Rastus Invitational continues. Speedy Lunch’s owners--Pat Marckesano and Victor Rodas--intend to appeal the stewards’ decision that disqualified Speedy Lunch from first to second for interfering with Griswold on the turn of the 870-yard race.

The stewards also handed Speedy Lunch’s jockey, thoroughbred apprentice Hector Torres, a five-day suspension that he is expected to appeal.

The two geldings broke together, but Speedy Lunch took a head lead down the backstretch. On the turn, the pair raced together four wide, and by the head of the stretch Speedy Lunch was seven-wide with Griswold on his outside. Speedy Lunch pulled away in the stretch for a 1 1/4-length victory that was reversed a few minutes later.

Griswold set a world record--43.99 seconds for 870 yards--in the 1991 Bull Rastus Invitational and this year was sent off as the 1-5 favorite. “If they wouldn’t have tackled me (on the turn), I would have won,” said Garcia, who was aboard Griswold, “Instead, I got sent to the boonies.”

Both horses were nominated for 1991 champion distance horse, an award Griswold is expected to receive.

Daryn Charlton trains the 6-year-old Griswold for the Legacy Ranch, as well as Griswold’s 5-year-old brother, Apprehend, who should be among the favorites Friday night in the $75,000 Horsemen’s Quarter Horse Racing Assn. Championship.

Apprehend is the defending champion but is coming off a disappointing race in the Champion of Champions Dec. 21, when he finished ninth. In 1991, he also won the Los Alamitos Championship and the Breeders Championship Classic. “He wasn’t feeling well before the Champion of Champions,” Charlton said. “I think it was a virus.”

Charlton will also saddle 1991 Vessels Maturity winner Jazzing Hi and recent California Championship winner Pouvoir in the HQHRA Championship, the year’s first Grade I race for older horses of both sexes.

Los Alamitos Notes

Four Arabian stakes are also scheduled as part of a full weekend for Arabian horses. Two stakes races will be held Friday, the same evening that the Arabian Racing Assn. of California announces its annual awards. . . . Saturday afternoon, Sotheby’s, the New York auction house, will conduct a sale of 49 Arabians owned by James and Diana Wagner of Bristol, Ind. An Arabian breeding seminar will be held at the track Saturday at 9 a.m., sponsored by the ARAC. Two more Arabian stakes are on Saturday’s card.

Jack Hall, one of the more prominent Los Alamitos horse owners in recent years, is dispersing all of his quarter horses Jan. 24-25 at the Heritage Place Winter Mixed Sale in Oklahoma City.