A Regal Choice to Make First Start of Year

Twenty-nine 3-year-olds will compete in four 400-yard trials tonight to earn a spot in the upcoming Los Alamitos Winter Derby. The 10 fastest qualifiers will move on to the $200,000 final Feb. 27.

A Regal Choice, who won the Los Alamitos Million on Dec. 12 thanks to the disqualification of Corona For Me, will make his first start of 2004 in the third trial.

Trained by Paul Jones for owner Esmeralda Flores, the California-bred son of First Down Dash will break from the outside in the field of seven and will be ridden by Alejandro Luna. Before the Million, A Regal Choice had won three of his previous nine starts as a 2-year-old.

The first trial will include Prankster Cf, Willie Works, who has won three in a row, and the unbeaten Be A Bono.

The picks: 1. Wired To Win. 2. First Dashatac. 3. Balance Sheet. 4. Honor An Cherish. 5. Erato. 6. Prankster Cf. 7. Cash For Kas. 8. A Regal Choice. 9. Hugol. 10. Traffic Attraction.

Four! Said Enough and Wired To Win in the first, First Dashatac, Dash N Go Bid and Wako Paco in the second, Balance Sheet and Left Coast in the third and Honor An Cherish and Act Up in the fourth.

Shots in the dark: Dashin Straw switches to jockey G.R. Carter in the fifth. Oh Superman Go returns from a long layoff for trainer Felix Gonzalez in the 10th.

Post time: 7:15 p.m.

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