Dortmund has captured his two starts to date by a combined 12 1/2 lengths and will put his perfect mark on the line Saturday while making his stakes debut in the Grade 1, $500,000 Los Alamitos Futurity.
Formerly the Hollywood/CashCall Futurity, the 1 1/16-mile affair drew only five runners but is shaping up to be an exciting race. Not only is Dortmund entered, but Mr. Z will attempt to give trainer D. Wayne Lukas a sweep of the two-year-old stakes after Take Charge Brandi’s half-length score in last Saturday’s Grade 1 Starlet at the track.
First, though, the Malibu Moon chestnut will have to defeat four others, including Dortmund. That latter colt has been in firm control during the stretch run of both his starts, beginning his career at Santa Anita on November 2 before traveling cross-country to take a one-mile optional claimer at Churchill Downs 27 days later. Martin Garcia was aboard both times for trainer Bob Baffert and gets the return mount on the Big Brown juvenile Saturday.
Mr. Z is the most experienced runner in the field, having already started seven times this year. The Kentucky-bred began his long season with a maiden debut score at Churchill in late June and has faced off against nothing but graded rivals since. He just missed by a neck next out in the Grade 3 Sanford at Saratoga before filling the second spot yet again at the Spa in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special.
A second in Keeneland’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity was sandwiched between fifth-place efforts in the Grade 3 Iroquois at Churchill and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Park. Mr. Z will enter the Los Alamitos Futurity off a nose second last out in the Grade 3 Delta Downs Jackpot on November 22. Mike Smith has the call.
No Problem is the only other entrant with prior stakes experience in the field. The Munnings chestnut took two tries to break his maiden, getting the job done at Santa Anita on October 26, before adding Del Mar’s Grade 3 Bob Hope to his resume on November 15. Trained by Mike McCarthy, No Problem has gone off at double-digit odds in two of his three starts, and keeps Victor Espinoza in the saddle on Saturday.
Bench Warrant and Firing Line are both maiden winners with a single loss on their records. The former, a John Sadler-trained son of Street Boss, took his career opener before finishing third against optional claiming challengers, both at Del Mar. Firing Line was second in his Santa Anita bow but then broke his maiden by 4 1/4 lengths at Del Mar on November 30 for trainer Simon Callaghan. The Line of David bay will have Rafael Bejarano in the irons while Tyler Baze will get a leg up on Bench Warrant.