Horses Trained by Jones Will Dominate the Derby

One thing can be predicted with a good degree of certainty about the $206,000 Los Alamitos Derby, which will be run Feb. 22.

The trainer of the winner will be Paul Jones.

The Jones barn dominated the Derby trials Saturday night, winning four of five races.

In all, Jones has seven of the 10 qualifiers for the 400-yard race.

Deefirst, who won the final trial to give him five victories in 14 starts, was the fastest qualifier, and he will be facing stablemates I Ought To Be First, Dealadash, Red Hot Blitzer, Stel Corona, Sum Special Strawfly and Lock To Load in the final.

Owned by Carlos Sosa’s Anjora Corporation, Deefirst, who was ridden by Carlos Bautista, completed the distance in 19.615 seconds.

The picks: 1. Power Trip. 2. Xelodonia. 3. Bys Memories. 4. Irish Dowry. 5. Fred Too. 6. Pomona Lisa. 7. Five Bar Deal. 8. Notably Noble.

Four! Use Think Mile and Power Trip in the first, Xelodonia and Lucky Melody in the second, Bys Memories, Pocadot Dash and Call Him Quick in the third and Irish Dowry and Wicked Mood in the fourth.

Shots in the dark: Mystical Sign has his claiming price doubled in the fifth for trainer Paul Jones. Tru Bride gets jockey Ramon Guce for her Los Alamitos bow in the sixth.

Post time: 7:15 p.m.

On the Net: For entries and results from Los Alamitos, visit: www.latimes.com/horseracing/