LOS ALAMITOS : Despite His Age, the Stakes Door Remains Open for Refrigerator

One glance at the nation’s stakes races for older quarter horses should explain why Refrigerator, a former champion, is calling the Southland home this year.

Refrigerator won the 1990 All-American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs in Ruidoso, N.M., en route to being voted the 1990 champion 2-year-old. That year, he also received some support for world champion, quarter horse racing’s version of horse of the year, but lost to Dash For Speed.

In 1991, he had only one major stakes victory--the Kansas Derby in June at Ruidoso Downs--but was never worse than third in three other major races, including a third-place finish in the Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos last December.

The problem facing owner Jim Helzer of Arlington, Tex., during the winter was what to do with the 4-year-old gelding this year. Ruidoso Downs offers only three major races for 4-year-olds during the summer and each includes a qualifying trial.

The logical option was the Los Alamitos-Hollywood Park circuit, where trials are required only in the Vessels Maturity and the Champion of Champions. And a horse can earn an automatic berth to the Champion of Champions with a major victory during the year.

Purses were also a factor. In 1991, only nine quarter horses races worth $100,000 or more were open to 4-year-olds and up. Six of those races were run at Los Alamitos, including the $250,000 Champion of Champions, which annually has a major impact on the world-champion voting.

Refrigerator raced for the first time this year in Saturday’s Vessels Maturity trials and emerged with the fastest qualifying time for the $100,500 final June 27, the first major race for older horses of the meeting. It may be his only trial race of the year. Helzer and trainer Blane Schvaneveldt are also considering the Los Alamitos Championships on July 24, the Breeders Championship Classic on Oct. 3 and the Champion of Champions on Dec. 19.

A prep race between the Los Alamitos Championship and the Breeders Championship Classic is not out of the question, but Refrigerator will probably not race more than six times this year.

“My real deciding factor was, I wanted to compete in as few trials as possible,” Helzer said. “He’s deadly when he’s fresh.”

Ultimately, Helzer is out to break the record for money earned by a quarter horse--$1,869,406, by Eastex. Refrigerator has $1,357,411, but even with a perfect year might not be able to catch Eastex. Consequently, Helzer is planning to race the gelding next year.

Last Saturday, two trials were contested and the winners ran similar times. Refrigerator ran 400 yards in 19.65 seconds and The Dream Doctor, winner of the first trial, was timed in 19.69. Neither Kip Didericksen, aboard Refrigerator, nor Eddie Garcia, on The Dream Doctor, needed to urge his mount.

Other qualifiers include Shawnes Diamond, Wealth, Racin Vike, My Escalon, Sable Select, Vital Streak, Dash For Time and Reds Signature.

The Dream Doctor has won eight of nine starts in his oft-interrupted career, during which the 5-year-old gelding has twice fought life-threatening illnesses. He was gravely ill at one point as a 2-year-old, but raced well at 3, winning the California Sires Cup Derby. Then, last fall, on the morning of the 1991 Vessels Maturity trials, he became seriously ill again after an abscess in his lung burst.

After a winter of rest, The Dream Doctor, owned by Don and Kathleen Clift of Orange Park Acres, returned to the track and won an allowance race last month and was a strong winner again Saturday night.

Both Refrigerator and The Dream Doctor have impressive gate acceleration. If the trials are any indication, they might run stride for stride.

“(Saturday night), he broke the best he’s ever broken,” said John Visscher, who trains The Dream Doctor. “I hope they hook up and people will see a race they haven’t seen in a long time.”

Last year’s Vessels Maturity winner, Jazzing Hi, is winding down his first year at stud in Fresno, and skipped this year’s race, but will return to the track late this summer, according to the 6-year-old horse’s owner, Dr. Kenneth Wright.

Jazzing Hi, the 1990 champion aged stallion, is the only two-time winner of the Vessels, having scored victories in 1990 and 1991, the first year it was run for 4-year-olds and older instead of only 4-year-olds.

Wright is searching for world champion honors for Jazzing Hi, who might have lost the award in 1990 when he was bumped hard during the Champion of Champions and lost all chance of winning. Wright doesn’t have a schedule of races in mind, but hopes Jazzing Hi can return to racing during the fall.

“He’s really fit,” Wright said. “He’s been on a walker every day, and we’re looking forward to the guy coming back.”

Easily A Secret might be owner Ed Allred and trainer Bruce Hawkinson’s ticket to the Kindergarten Futurity winner’s circle. They have never won the Grade I race for 2-year-olds, finishing second in 1989 with Way Maker, who bloomed in the fall of that year and was later voted champion 2-year-old gelding.

Hawkinson will saddle Easily A Secret on Sunday in the $100,000 Kindergarten Futurity, which this year has been split into colt-gelding and filly divisions.

Easily A Secret had the fastest qualifying time June 6 in the trials, running 350 yards in 17.85 seconds.

Easily A Secret will face nine others, one of them Avison. He is by leading sire Ronas Ryon out of major winner Florentine, who lists among her victories the 1988 Breeders Championship Classic at Los Alamitos. Avison, Florentine’s first foal and owned by Ginger Hyland of Lake Hughes, is the second-leading qualifier with a time of 17.87.

Pip Pip heads Saturday’s $105,000 Miss Kindergarten Futurity for 2-year-old fillies. Undefeated in two starts, Pip Pip has yet to be challenged. She won her maiden race and her trial race by more than a length each.

“She beats this bunch and then we’ll see if she’s a runner,” Schvaneveldt said. “She hasn’t beaten anything yet.

Pip Pip is owned by Abigail Kawananakoa of Honolulu and will probably start in the Dash For Cash and All-American Futurities later this year.

Los Alamitos Notes

Raise An Impudent’s victory in last Saturday’s El Ocho Setenta Handicap was the 8-year-old gelding’s 30th victory and his 11th in a stake. It also makes him the horse to beat in the Endurance Handicap on July 17, the next stake for the 870-yard specialists. . . . Waverino, who won the Los Alamitos Derby on May 30, is the 123-pound highweight for Friday’s $20,000 Bobby Doyle Handicap for 3-year-olds. Bills Ryon, IB Quick, Speckled Short and Time To Lead are next at 121. The race is named for Bobby Doyle, the longtime Los Alamitos track announcer who died last January.

Through Sunday, the 23rd night of the quarter horse meeting, the average handle is $1,007,115. . . . There is a carry-over of $41,607 for Thursday’s twin-trifecta. . . . Post times have been changed for the rest of the meeting. First race will be 7:15 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. First post on Saturdays and Sundays will move to 7:15 p.m. beginning July 2. The meeting ends Aug. 9.