JESS YOU AND I SETS TRACK RECORD IN CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS WIN
LOS ALAMITOS, CA—DECEMBER 14, 2008—Double Bar S Ranch's Jess You And I became the first Quarter Horse ever to eclipse the 21 second barrier in a 440 yard race at Los Alamitos, as he outdueled champion Little Bit Of Baja by a head to win the $750,000 Champion of Champions in a jaw dropping time of :20.94 on Saturday night.
Ridden by Alejandro Luna for trainer Jaime Gomez, Jess You And I beat the previous track mark set by World Champion Blues Girl Too in last year's Champion of Champions by 19/100ths of a second.
Jess You And I, a gelded son of FEATURE MR JESS, also became a millionaire in the process, thanks to a $375,000 payday for his Champion of Champions victory. Now a winner in 10 of 18 career starts, Jess You And I improved his career earnings to $1,172,967 and now becomes the fourth Quarter Horse from the 2-year-old crop of 2006 to become a millionaire.
This makes the freshman class of '06 the first in history to produce a quartet of millionaires. Blues Girl Too, FDD Dynasty and No Secrets Here are the other graduates from that class to reach the seven-figure plateau in money earned.
Sent off at 15-1 odds, Jess You And I and the 3-1 second choice Little Bit Of Baja delivered a memorable duel every step of the way in the Champion of Champions. The Double Bar S Ranch color-bearer broke on top from post number five and had a neck lead right away while Little Bit Of Baja stalked him after leaving the gate from post three.
Jess You And I, however, never weakened in what was his 440-yard debut and instead finished powerfully to hold off Little Bit Of Baja and jockey Rodrigo Aceves.
For the second straight year the Vessels Stallion Farm and Los Bustardos LLC's Little Bit Of Baja had to settle for second in the Champion of Champions, joining Be A Bono is the only other horse with two runner-up finishes in this race.
A Stoli Mate, who was making his first start since winning the Los Alamitos Winter Championship in February, ran a great race to finish third, while even-money favorite One Famous Eagle flew late to finish in fourth place after breaking in last place. All American Derby winner Noconi was fifth and was followed across the wire by Frankie Shoots, Stylish Jess Br and Chances Are I Wil.
The 37th running of the Champion of Champions was marred by a fall involving Los Alamitos Invitational Championship winner Ten Oclock Scholar, who went down during the early part of the race. Jockey Alex Bautista, who was riding Ten Oclock Scholar, escaped the fall unscathed, while the 4-year-old gelding was able to get up and walk into the horse ambulance under his own power. Owned by Ed Allred and Tom Seibly, Ten Oclock Scholar will be examined thoroughly on Sunday morning to determine if he suffered any major injuries.
"He may have just clipped heels and fell over," said Dr. C. Wayne McIlwraith, the On-Call veterinarian of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. "I looked at him as I couldn't find anything wrong with his legs. It looks like it might be soft tissue injury but we will not know anything for sure until tomorrow morning when I join (Los Alamitos track veterinarian) Dr. Karen Peyser in examining him."
No Secrets Here, the 2006 All American Futurity winner, was scratched out of the Champion of Champions earlier on the night. He was also scratched out of this race last year.
Jess You And I, meanwhile, gave his connections their first sweet taste of victory in the Champion of Champions. For some at Double Bar S Ranch, the AQHA champion owners in 2006 thanks to the then 2-year-old champion gelding Jess You And I and multiple futurity winner Tac It Like A Man, this victory was not that big of a surprise.
"I was confident all along about his chances," said Dawn List, who along with her sister Rhonda and mother Sharon, owns the Double Bar S Ranch. "I even had a fortune cookie tell me that we were going to win. I still have the fortune in my purse. It reads 'Your confidence will lead you to success,' and I was confident coming into this race."
"I put a $1,000 on the nose on him to win," Rhonda added. "I'm going to buy everyone at the farm some nice stocking stuffers this Christmas. We are so thrilled and so happy with the way everything is going right now at the ranch. Our ranch manager Jerry Young is doing a great job coordinating with trainers at the track and I can't think of anything that could be better than what we have going at the ranch right now."
Trainer Jaime Gomez, long known as the king of the futurities at Los Alamitos because of his success with races for 2-year-olds, also enjoyed his first ever Champion of Champions win. Gomez's previous best showing in the Champion of Champions was a second place finish with Like Frankie And Me in 2005.
"Jaime can do it all," Rhonda said. "He's not just a futurity trainer, he can win with anything. A great horseman is a greathorseman not matter what."
A native of Jalisco, Mexico, Gomez becomes the first Mexican born trainer to win the Champion of Champions.
"I was raised in Guadalajara and I came here when I was 15 years old," said the now 56-year-old conditioner. "Los Alamitos will forever be my home. I love this place and it's in my heart. I've had some good times, some bad times and some great times at Los Alamitos. I will never want to leave this place. "
"We expected a good time in this race because there was a nice tail wind but I never imagined something like a :20.94. You know that you'll have to run a fast time to win this race but what a time by Jess You And I. I've won a lot of futurities in my career here but this is as big a thrill as I've ever had. Right now what I'm feeling is a Champion of Champions feeling. All I can do is thank (Los Alamitos track owner) Dr. Ed Allred for having this type of a race for all of us in the Quarter Horse racing industry."
All signs point to Jess You And I defending his Champion of Champions title in 2009. His connections are thinking about leaving him at the track for training with the goal of running him in the Los Alamitos Winter Championship Trials on January 31. Double Bar S Ranch is also hoping to maintain the bloodline that produces Jess You And I as a prominent part of their racing operation for years to come.
"We still have his mother (the Tolltac mare Gold Daze) at the farm and we plan to breed her right back to FEATURE MR JESS next year," Rhonda List said. "We know that FEATURE MR JESS is battling some health issues right now and we wish those that are caring for him nothing but the best. They have some (frozen semen) available so we'll probably do that."
The winner of the Grade 1 Go Man Go Handicap earlier this season, Jess You And I is the 14th aged gelding to win the Champion of Champions and the first to do so since Whosleavingwho in 2002. Runner-up Little Bit Of Baja, the 400-yard track record holder and another member of the freshman class of 2006, also figures to remain in training and he could make his next start in just a couple of weeks in The Championship at Sunland Park.
