LOS ALAMITOS : Arabians Will Take Spotlight

This weekend will be one of the biggest of the year for Arabian racing at Los Alamitos with four stakes, among them the $190,000 Drinkers of the Wind Futurity, the richest Arabian race in history, on Friday night and the $142,000 Daughters of the Desert Futurity on Saturday.

If the trials are any indication of how things will go in the final, the Daughters of the Desert Futurity will be a close race between CR Angel Kate and Tigress Lass, each of whom won her trial impressively.

In the first of two trials on Oct. 13, CR Angel Kate defeated the six-horse field by 11 1/4 lengths. The winning time was 1:22 3/5.

“She won by more than we wanted her to,” trainer Felix Payne said. “We took it real easy on the backside, and let her run about the last eighth of a mile. We felt she could win it easy, but I had to let her run so she wouldn’t get any bad habits in the lane, like looking at the crowd, or whatever.”

CR Angel Kate hasn’t had much opportunity to develop bad habits. The trial was only her second race. She was coupled in that event with CR Angel Jackie, who was also making her second start and qualified for the final.

“This was the main deal for them,” said Payne, who has been preparing the fillies for the Daughters of the Desert since May.

In all, Payne started four fillies in the trials and qualified all four.

“For some reason, I get a lot of run out of mares,” Payne said. “Mares run good for me. I’ve set track records with colts, but never had a big stakes colt, for some reason.”

Two of Payne’s best mares have been Sam Cherie, who holds the 1 1/16-mile track record at Los Alamitos, and HF Orzonna. HF Orzonna competed in the Daughters of the Desert last year, finishing second to Unchainedd Melody, eventual Darley horse of the year.

Payne trained quarter horses for 21 years before switching to Arabians seven years ago, and for him, there is no comparison.

“I just fell in love with these horses,” he said. “The more time you spend with them, the more they give you back. These Arabians are just so intelligent. You get attached to them.”

Tigress Lass, trained by Roger Werneth and ridden by Elaina Sheridan, won the second trial by five lengths in 1:22 1/5.

Like CR Angel Kate, Tigress Lass was racing for the second time, having won her debut by 21 lengths.

“She’s a bear,” Payne said of his competition. “We’ve got our work cut out for us.

“It looks like we’re shaping up to be the bridesmaid again, but it’s going to be a nice race. The pressure is already mounting.”

Trainer Yancey Carter Jr. might also be feeling a little pressure. He has qualified Seyvilla Tribaske for the Daughters of the Desert and BPA Cilantro for the Drinkers of the Wind.

Carter will be trying to win the Daughters of the Desert for the second consecutive time, having won last year with Unchainedd Melody. A victory would also put Carter back in the running for trainer of the year, an award he has won an unprecedented three times.

“We like our chances,” Carter said. “We realize there are other outstanding fillies out there. Hopefully, (Seyvilla Tribaske) will put it together on the night it matters most.”

Although Carter has already won the Daughters of the Desert, he has never won the Drinkers of the Wind. The only horse he ever started in the race was TC Tomahawk, who finished second. BPA Cilantro could give him his first Drinkers of the Wind victory this year.

“(BPA Cilantro) was the only maiden to qualify,” Carter said. “It’s a big hill for him to climb, trying to beat winners. But these futurities, it’s an honor just getting in there.”

Los Alamitos Notes

Abigail Kawanankoa’s Time For Royal Cash posted the fastest qualifying time for the Golden State Derby for quarter horses, winning her trial last Friday night by 1 1/2 lengths in 21.65 seconds. Other qualifiers for the final Nov. 5: Artesias Special Gal, Dream A Secret, The Money Crunch, The Royal Prince, Rainbow Sun, Moo Vin First, Untamed Heart, Her First Cin and Le Ritz.