Runforyourlife tops derby trials

Runforyourlife, winner of the Golden State Million Futurity last November, will have his first start since January in Sunday’s eighth race at Los Alamitos, the second of two divisions of the Governor’s Cup Derby trials.

It will not take too taxing of an effort for Runforyourlife to qualify for the Governor’s Cup Derby, which is restricted to California-breds and will be run July 25 with an estimated purse of $225,000.

There are two 400-yard divisions of the time trials – the final two races on an eight-race program. The runners with the 10 fastest times among the 15 entrants in the two trials, regardless of finishing positions, will advance to the Governor’s Cup Derby, which will be held on the same night as the Governor’s Cup Futurity and the Spencer Childers Handicap for older horses.

Runforyourlife, owned by Connie Rosenthal and trained by Chris O’Dell, has won 5 of 10 starts and earned $583,753. A gelding, Runforyourlife was second in the Governor’s Cup Futurity last July. After his Golden State Million win, Runforyourlife was seventh in the Los Alamitos Two Million

Futurity in December and third in a division of the Los Alamitos Winter Derby trials in January.

Runforyourlife has drawn the outside post in a field of eight, which is clearly the stronger of the two time trials. The opposition includes Cattail Cove, who was second in the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity, and Sass Go Blue, who won the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association Breeders’ Futurity last October.

Cattail Cove was sixth in the Vandys Flash Handicap on June 28 after stumbling at the start. The Vandys Flash has been Cattail Cove’s lone start this year. Sass Go Blue finished fifth in the El Primero Del Ano Derby in March, but was disqualified and placed eighth for causing interference shortly after the start.

The seven-runner field for the seventh race is led by Fire By Night, who was third in the El Primero Del Ano Derby. His main rivals are Just Be Real, who was ninth in the Los Alamitos Winter Derby in February, and Javelina Cantina, who was fourth in the Los Alamitos Oaks for 3-year-old fillies in March.

Javelina Cantina, trained by Mike Casselman, was later last of seven in the Pacifica Handicap on May 2 after losing all chance when she broke slowly.