A Ransom Gets Job Done

Making his first start as a 6-year-old, A Ransom did what he was supposed to on California Champions Night Saturday at Los Alamitos.

The 1-2 favorite and defending champion in the $159,250 Spencer L. Childers Handicap, the world champion quarter horse of 2000 broke well and proved clearly best over 11-1 shot Whosleavingwho and four others. The final time for the 400 yards in the Grade I was 19.66 seconds.

Owned by John and Kathie Bobenrieth and trained by Connie Hall, A Ransom, a gelded son of First Down Dash, won for the 18th time in 29 starts and pushed his career earnings past $900,000.

It was the third stakes win of the night for jockey Carlos Bautista and the second for Hall. They had teamed to win the $28,150 California Breeders Sophomore Stakes two races earlier with longshot Debuts Dasher. Bautista’s other victory had come with Classic Sassy Chic in the $27,450 California Breeders’ Freshman Stakes.

In the first of the two other Grade I races on the program, Flys R Streakin, the 5-2 second choice, blew away his eight foes in the $349,000 Governor’s Cup Futurity. He won for the third time in four starts for trainer Jaime Gomez and owner Dutch Masters III, completing the 350 yards in 17.54 seconds under jockey Joe Badilla, Jr.

Badilla returned a race later to win the other Grade I, the $136,000 Governor’s Cup Derby with favored Last Shall Be First for owner Spencer L. Childers and trainer Dan Francisco.