Cottonwood man owns Little Bit of Baja

CANNELL

Los Alamitos Race Course

PHOTO FINISH: Sent off at 7-5 odds, Little Bit of Baja, left (jockey in gold silks), crosses the wire a length and a quarter second behind first-place finisher Blues Girl Too, a filly that won the 440-yard 2007 Champion of Champions race in record time of 21.132 seconds. The previous record for that race was 21.17 seconds set Dec. 19, 1976, by the great Dash for Cash, sire of Little Bit of Baja.

Sam Cannell of Cottonwood had a lot riding on the tenth race run Saturday at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cerritos, even though he didn’t wager a single dime on the Champion of Champions race.

As a breeder and trainer of American Quarter Horses, and one who has actively competed in horse contests for more than 40 years, Cannell and a group of nine other investors chose instead to gamble on ownership of Little Bit of Baja.

Their horse finished second, a length and a quarter behind Blues Girl Too, a filly that won $500,000 of the $1 million guaranteed total purse when she broke a 31-year-old record set by Dash for Cash in 1976. In a qualifying race held Nov. 10, Little Bit of Baja narrowly edged out five other American Quarter Horses to win the 54th annual running of the Los Alamitos Super Derby. So far, Baja’s lifetime cash earnings now exceed $1 million, Cannell said.

The 16-hand-high sorrel gelding is one of three promising progeny of the legendary 23-year-old stud stallion First Down Dash to qualify for this year’s million-dollar purse on the nationally televised, 440-yard race. The other two First Down Dash colts racing Saturday were No Secrets Here and FDD (First Down Dash) Dynasty.

Little Bit of Baja’s sire is the only horse in American Quarter Horse history to exceed $6.2 million in total racetrack earnings for the stallion and his progeny, Cannell said.