LOS ALAMITOS : Spotlight Focuses on 2-Year-Olds

In the first round of futurity trials, Dicey Secret and Dash Of Cider stepped up as the 2-year-old filly and colt to watch. Then the filly lost and now the colt is going to New Mexico.

But another promising 2-year-old is sure to appear in the Kindergarten Futurity trials this weekend. Even without dominant contenders in either the colt or filly division, trainers agree there is one out there--a 2-year-old waiting to stand out.

Colts will compete Friday night for 10 spots in the $100,000 Kindergarten Futurity, a Grade II event scheduled June 24. The $100,000 Miss Kindergarten Futurity, also a Grade II event, will be run June 25, with trials Saturday.

Dash Of Cider, the California Sires Cup Futurity winner, will skip this month’s race and the next couple of rounds in California in favor of the All-American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs in Ruidoso, N.M. A Grade I, 400-yard test, the All-American is run on Labor Day weekend with trials two weeks earlier.

“We probably won’t run here before then because the next trials (for the Governor’s Cup) are in late July and that’s too close to the All-American trials,” trainer Brian Koriner said. “We’ll train him up to the race.”

Koriner will start Chenilles Dasher and Too Too Twain in the Kindergarten trials. Like Dash Of Cider, both are owned by Gordon Shultz.

Cathy Monji’s Dicey Secret, the fastest qualifier for the California Sires Cup Futurity, was bumped from either side in the first 100 yards of that race and finished third. The experience left her a little body-sore, and trainer Danny Mitchell was not sure she would start this weekend. But on recent mornings, the filly dispelled any concern.

“Oh yeah, she’s bucking and playing,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell is also starting Mighty Fancy Pass, a filly he trains for William Peeples. Mighty Fancy Pass ran third in a futurity in Utah and is eligible for the Ed Burke Memorial and the Breeders futurities later this year.

“There’s a nice bunch of babies this year,” Mitchell said. “I’ve seen a few and I’m sure we’ll see some more. They’ll start coming out of the woodwork pretty soon.”

Conventional wisdom on the backstretch points to trainer Daryn Charlton as the man with the best 2-year-olds. He will start Dollars Chick and Outlasting in the Miss Kindergarten for owner Spencer Childers. Jungle Raised, who completed the three Childers-owned, Charlton-trained fillies, missed too much training because of a persistent fever.

The Fling King and Hi Tech Attack from the Jaime Gomez barn and the Dennis Givens-trained My Left Foot could serve notice in the colt division. Although Givens is hesitant to tout his own runners, he acknowledged that the colt was impressive in his first outing.

“He had a little trouble, grabbed himself leaving the gate and he still won by a length,” Givens said, adding that he would have liked more time to bring the colt up to the Kindergarten.

Trainers entered 18 colts in the Kindergarten trials, and more than 20 are likely for the filly division.

“I have Caits Dash and Merri Beduino in the filly half,” trainer Dennis Ekins said. “They’re both nice fillies, but they haven’t shown a great deal.”

A 22-year veteran of the quarter horse circuit, Ekins thought this might be a light crop of 2-year-olds.

“I haven’t seen a lot of really good 2-year-olds,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of good ones with respectable times but nothing outstanding. It’s early, though, and there’s still a lot of 2-year-olds that haven’t had any races. Hopefully we have one waiting in the wings.”

Connie Hall, who has four futurity hopefuls, agreed. “There hasn’t been any horse that looks like a great horse, but we’ve only had one futurity,” she said.

Hall, who was recently awarded the lifetime achievement award by the Women Behind Racing, will start Yuubasan in the colt’s division and Ruby Red Corvette, Ms Dash Fascination and She’s a Chic Kid in the filly trials.

Although trainers expect a 2-year-old to jump up this weekend, racing secretary Ron Church doubts it. He said talent is more evenly spread out.

“We’re running these trials later this year, and still there isn’t one outstanding 2-year-old as there has been in years past,” Church said. “It’s better for the owners, and I think we’ll get more competitive races this way.”

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At 33-1, Streakin Dunes surprised almost everyone by winning the $20,000 James Smith Memorial Handicap--including his trainer, Charles Treece.

Treece also saddled Mr. Diddy Wa Diddy, the 3-5 favorite in the 870-yard race.

“He didn’t break as sharp as he usually does,” Treece said of Mr. Diddy Wa Diddy. “The (No.) 7 horse kind of bumped him on the right side.”

Stewards thought Trucklin Six, who broke from the fourth post and finished the race second, also did some bumping. They disqualified the Connie Hall-trained colt, moving him to last, and elevated third-place Mr. Diddy Wa Diddy into second.

“Streakin Dunes has been training great. He came up to the race a winner,” Treece said, referring to the gelding’s last victory over $8,000 claimers. “But we had never run him in anything that tough.”

Jockey Oscar Monroy picked up his first stakes victory in the race.

“I could hear them coming as we got close to the wire, and all I could think of was to keep riding Streakin Dunes well past the wire,” Monroy said.