Dreams Divine (8) looks to have a formidable advantage in Saturday’s $403,500 Los Alamitos Oaks for fillies at 400 yards, but could face a threat from Southern Wagon (4).
Dreams Divine will be a strong favorite in the field of nine, and is only a nose loss from a four-race winning streak in the last 10 months.
Dreams Divine set the fastest qualifying time of 19.68 seconds in time trials for the Los Alamitos Oaks on March 7, leading throughout to record a comfortable win by three-quarters of a length over Cartel Jess Rockin, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2019. Cartel Jess Rockin emerged from the race with a career-ending injury and is recovering at a local farm, according to a statement from Los Alamitos publicity.
Southern Wagon, trained by Monty Arrossa, won a division of the trials in the sharp time of 19.71 seconds in her first start since a fourth-place finish in a division of the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity trials in late November.
Arrossa has a fine record with horses having their second start after layoffs of 45 days to six months, but adding to that win total with Southern Wagon in the Los Alamitos Oaks could be difficult because of the presence of Dreams Divine.
Kiss Thru Fire (5) is easy to respect and a solid third choice. She was a head behind Southern Wagon in the recent time trials. While she has yet to win a major race, this is her fifth appearance in a major futurity or derby final, including a sixth in the All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs last September.
Post time for the Los Alamitos Oaks is 12:16 a.m., Eastern, on Sunday, or 9:16 p.m., Pacific on Saturday. The Los Alamitos Oaks is the eighth and final race on a program that begins at 9 p.m., Eastern, or 6 p.m., Pacific.
Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.