Jose Flores Qualifies Seven for Kindergarten Futurity Finals at Los Alamitos

Jose Flores did not just qualify for the Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity final at Los Alamitos. He took over the gatekeeping round, sending seven of the 10 finalists into a race that allows only the fastest 10 and offers no consolation, which is why the qualifier night mattered so much for bettors.

That kind of hold on the field changes how the final is read. Flores saddled five trial winners in the 300-yard set, and the barn’s depth gave the evening a one-barn feel from the start. The Grade 2 event, open to all 2-year-olds foaled in 2024, is projected at $300,000 with $50,000 added, so the May final at Los Alamitos Race Course now looks less like an open scramble and more like a test of whether anybody can pry the spotlight away from Flores.

Contentious set the tone. The Favorite Cartel filly broke a little rough, then finished with authority to stop the clock in :15.678, fastest among the qualifiers and good for a half-length win over Bridgewater. Even more telling, she already owned the fastest 220-yard time of the season at Los Alamitos, and she proved she could stretch that speed to 300 yards without losing her edge.

Her pedigree only sharpens the case. Contentious is out of AQHA Champion Aged Mare Quirky, is a full sister to 2024 Governor’s Cup Derby winner Mask Mandate, and is a half-sister to Shiny New, last year’s fastest Ed Burke Million Futurity qualifier. In a race built on speed and family lines, that is the kind of background horseplayers notice immediately.

Bridgewater checked in second in the trial order in :15.727, followed by My Favorite Paris, AP Eagle Heart, Romoland, Cyber Eyes, Monday Dynasty, Call Me Candela, Jaque and Teller Looks MRL. Eight of the 10 qualifiers were fillies, a detail that makes the final look less like a colt-versus-filly showdown than a race where the best juveniles, regardless of sex, are clustered at the top.

The history behind the race adds another layer. The stakes record for the 300 yards is :15.14, set by Separate Fire, while Jaime Gomez owns the trainer mark with eight wins. Robert Adair and Alejandro Luna are tied for the most jockey wins with four apiece. Flores is still chasing those historical benchmarks, but on this night he owned the present tense, and Contentious gave him the horse everyone else has to beat.