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LOS ALAMITOS : Chickasis Doesn’t Run Like a Novice

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Even though Chickasis has raced only twice, the filly is sure to be one of the favorites in the $125,000 California Sires Cup Futurity on Friday night at Los Alamitos after posting the fastest qualifying time.

Chickasis, by Chicks Beduino, started her career on July 30, winning a maiden race by 1 1/4 lengths. Her winning time of 15.43 seconds for 300 yards is the fastest time of the meet at that distance.

Then, ridden by Roman Figueroa in the Sires Cup Futurity trials, Chickasis broke swiftly from the outside post position and raced to an effortless 1 1/2-length victory in the 350-yard race, the third of six such trials. Her time was 17.66 seconds. Runner-up A Winning Chick, who also qualified to the futurity, was 2 3/4 lengths ahead of the third-place finisher.

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“She ran a good race,” Figueroa said of Chickasis. “The horses inside had a little trouble but it didn’t bother her. She never missed a step.”

Figueroa added, “I think her mind and the speed she’s got will take on anything that challenges her. The fast ones are few and far between, but she seems to be one of those kind.”

Chickasis will face some tough competition from former stakes winners Thinkin Strawfly and Splash Bac.

Thinkin Strawfly won a trial and the final of the Portland Meadows Futurity in Oregon, setting a track record of 15.55 seconds for 300 yards. The Strawfly Special gelding then was shipped to Los Alamitos, where he was second in an allowance race before winning his futurity trial in the second-fastest qualifying time.

“He always showed class, always,” said Thinkin Strawfly’s trainer, Jim Glenn, Sr. “It was obvious from the start that this was a nice horse. He just showed so much presence and class. And he has lots of talent.”

There seems to be a lot of that in the restricted Grade III event, considering that Grade I winner Splash Bac is also part of the field.

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Splash Bac is from the Schvaneveldt barn--being run by Phil Schvaneveldt while brother Blane sits out a suspension for switching horses in a workout--as are Chickasis and 10th-fastest qualifier Rebuttal. Splash Bac has already proven himself in the 2-year-old ranks, with a victory in the Governor’s Cup Futurity and a second-place finish in the Ed Burke Memorial Futurity.

The complete list of qualifiers: Chickasis, 17.66 seconds; Thinkin Strawfly, 17.73; Splash Bac, 17.76; Who Darted, 17.78; Be Certain, 17.85; Costal Classic, 17.87; A Winning Chick, 17.90; Sound Away Alibi, 17.90; Artesias Chickie, 17.92, and Rebuttal, 17.93.

Los Alamitos Notes

Los Alamitos will offer a special program on Labor Day. Post time is 6 p.m. There will be no live racing Sept. 7. . . . Remington Park Championship winner Higher Goals has arrived in California and is in the barn of trainer Chuck Treece, preparing for the Champion of Champions. The 6-year-old mare worked 350 yards in 17.90 seconds during Friday night’s races and is expected to make her season debut in the Mildred Vessels Invitational Handicap on Sept. 15.

The California Horse Racing Board recently approved a request by Horseman’s Quarter Horse Racing Assn. to reduce, experimentally, the takeout on certain exotic wagers. Beginning Friday, Los Alamitos will reduce by 3% the takeout on daily double and quinella wagering. Currently, 20.38% of each dollar is withheld for track operations, purses and the state of California, among other things. The reduction to 17.38% is to determine whether overall betting will be increased by lower takeouts.

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