Tipsheet: 2022 Los Alamitos Futurity
Los Alamitos Race Course, Cypress, CA. (Photo by Benoit Photography)
December 15th, 2022
A compact field of five two-year-olds will travel 1 1/16 miles in Saturday’s $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2). The race is part of the Road to the 2023 Kentucky Derby series.
Los Alamitos Futurity Picks
- #5 Arabian Lion
- #3 Fort Bragg
- #4 Practical Move
Los Alamitos Futurity Wagers
Los Alamitos Futurity Contenders
#1 TALL BOY: Maiden who finished a distant third in a recent maiden special weight dash at Del Mar. The Leandro Mora pupil looks to be in a tough spot to make the frame while making his stakes debut. The Lookin at Lucky chestnut will have Umberto Rispoli in the silks, rallying the Calumet color bearer from the back of the pack in the stretch.
#2 CARMEL ROAD: Looked the part in a maiden romp at Del Mar two back but stopped early in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) last time out when drawing widest of all in a deep field. The Bob Baffert contender has trained in swift fashion since his Kentucky journey and can’t be ignored as a lightly raced colt with a bright future. Juan Hernandez will have the youngster forwardly placed from the break.
#3 FORT BRAGG: The second of the Baffert trio, he graduated going two turns at Santa Anita in his most recent endeavor. The $700,000 son of Tapit has not been flashy from a trio of assignments to date, but the bay has been consistently good to this stage of his development and is bred to get better with experience and age. Flavien Prat taking the reins makes him a major contender in his graded debut.
#4 PRACTICAL MOVE: Has never missed the board from a quartet of lifetime efforts and will run with blinkers off for the initial time in this test. The Tim Yakteen trainee ran big in his lone route try to date, and the $230,000 Practical Joke juvenile could be any kind with the equipment change while running from off the pace beneath Ramon Vazquez.
#5 ARABIAN LION: Scored at first asking and then finished a well-clear runner-up in an allowance tilt at Churchill Downs last time out. The third of the Baffert trio was a $600,000 juvenile purchase who has displayed an abundance of ability in two outings, and he seems poised to prosper in his initial two-turn attempt on Saturday. The chestnut continues to train in rapid fashion this campaign and gets top billing with John Velazquez in the silks.
