LOS ALAMITOS : Monji Hoping Her Drone Will Sting

Owner Cathy Monji will be hoping to win her first stakes race Friday night at Los Alamitos with Drone in the $160,000 Kindergarten Futurity.

Drone was fastest in the trials for the Grade 2 race.

Ridden by jockey Steve Treasure in the first of four trials on May 12, Drone broke on top in the 350-yard race, easily covering the distance in 17.90 seconds. The colt, trained by Danny Mitchell, won by 1 1/4 lengths while being tightly held by Treasure.

“After he went 150 yards, [Treasure] kind of got ahold of him, and just cruised through there,� Mitchell said.

A victory in the final would be Treasure’s 100th stakes victory at Los Alamitos. Only two riders, Kenny Hart and Bobby Adair, have done that.

Monji narrowly missed winning a stake last year with Dicey Secret.

The filly, also trained by Mitchell, was the fastest qualifier for both the California Sires Cup and Miss Kindergarten futurities last year. But in the finals, she finished third and ran a dead heat for second, respectively. The game filly also qualified for the Governor’s Cup Futurity, finishing a close third in the final.

Monji and Mitchell are hoping for better luck in the Kindergarten Futurity.

“I am really excited,� Monji said. “Last year, I was so high, with [Dicey Secret] the fastest qualifier, then a little disappointed [after the final]. This year, I’m taking it all in stride.�

If Drone doesn’t deliver, Monji may get another chance at a stakes victory with Dicey Secret.

Dicey Secret recovered from a slow break and won a $7,500 allowance on May 14, defeating, among others, multiple stakes winner Cool Papa Bell. The filly is expected to race again in the California Sires Cup Derby trials in mid-June.

Los Alamitos Notes

The Connie Hall-trained Avison, who impressively won the Kaweah Bar Handicap on opening weekend, is a probable starter in the $20,000 Double Bid Handicap on Saturday. Some of the top horses Avison may race are Brotherly, winner of the 1994 Los Alamitos championship; The Money Crunch, winner of the Miss Princess Handicap; Beinbetter, a top allowance contender, and Pritzi Dash. . . . Jockey Henry Garcia won his 900th race at Los Alamitos last Thursday when he rode Dashinsouth to victory in the 10th race. Garcia ranks 12th among the track’s leading riders.

Jockey Moana Schwertsik scored her first victory when she brought 13-1 shot Saltiki home first in the second race last Saturday. . . . Kip Didericksen, who retired from riding in 1992, is expected to return to it at Los Alamitos on June 10. Didericksen, who was one of the top jockeys at Los Alamitos from 1988 through 1992, returned in style last weekend, winning the AQHA Challenge race at Les Bois Park in Boise, Ida., on Saturday.

One lucky patron cashed a ticket worth $125,511.37 after hitting the twin trifecta Sunday night. The winning ticket was sold at the Ventura County Fairgrounds satellite facility, and was the only ticket with the correct trifecta combinations of 8-6-7 in the seventh race and 5-4-8 in the ninth.