Monday, August 25 2008
WHATSTHESCRIPT WINS DEL MAR MILE
Tommy Town Thoroughbreds' Irish-bred Whatsthescript, the 2-1 favorite ridden by 2007's champion jockey Garrett Gomez, unleashed a devastating rally in the stretch Sunday to win the Grade II $400,000 Del Mar Mile, a "Win and You're In" qualifying event for the Breeders' Cup Oct. 24-25 at Santa Anita.
Whatsthescript, trained by John Sadler, won by three-quarters of a length over Bold Chieftain, with Global Hunter third and Daytona fourth in a field of nine grass runners.
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LEWIS MICHAEL WINS PAT O’BRIEN HANDICAP
Eastern invaders Lewis Michael and jockey Rene Douglas combined to score a major upset Sunday in the Grade II $300,000 Pat O'Brien Handicap as 2007 Eclipse Award winning-sprinter Midnight Lute, the 4-5 favorite, finished a disappointing tenth in the field of a dozen horses.
Lewis Michael, always well-placed in the seven-furlong dash, took command from pacesetting Barbecue Eddie in the upper stretch and then drew away to score by almost three lengths in convincing style.
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DEAREST TRICKSKI WINS RANCHO BERNARDO ‘CAP
Strongly supported Dearest Trickski held on tenaciously in the final strides to barely withstand the late challenge of longshot Tiz Elemental and win the Grade III $200,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap Sunday, the day of the 18th running of the $1 million Pacific Classic.
Dearest Trickski, a swift four-year-old filly owned by Tom Mankiewicz and trained by John Sadler, took command after the break under jockey Mike Smith and prevailed in the narrowest of finishes over the 11-1 Tiz Elemental and her rider, Joel Rosario.
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Sunday, August 24 2008
Del Mar Stable Notes 8/24/8
SLIGHT INJURY TAKES McCANN'S MOJAVE OUT OF PACIFIC CLASSIC
McCann's Mojave, owned by Mike Willman and trained by Steve Specht, was withdrawn from today's Grade I, $1-million Pacific Classic at mid-morning because of a slight injury that developed overnight, according to Specht.
"I found a little filling on the tendon on the outside of his left foreleg this morning," Specht said. "I took him to the track for some exercise and it almost all disappeared, but I decided to have a veterinarian look at it.
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Del Mar Stable Notes 8/24/8
SLIGHT INJURY TAKES McCANN'S MOJAVE OUT OF PACIFIC CLASSIC
McCann's Mojave, owned by Mike Willman and trained by Steve Specht, was withdrawn from today's Grade I, $1-million Pacific Classic at mid-morning because of a slight injury that developed overnight, according to Specht.
"I found a little filling on the tendon on the outside of his left foreleg this morning," Specht said. "I took him to the track for some exercise and it almost all disappeared, but I decided to have a veterinarian look at it.
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SPRING HOUSE WINS DEL MAR HANDICAP
R.D. Hubbard's Spring House, the 3-5 favorite under jockey Corey Nakatani, punched his ticket for the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf on October 25 with a hard-earned triumph Saturday in the 69th running of the $250,000 Del Mar Handicap at the marathon distance of a mile and three-eighths over the infield Jimmy Durante Turf Course.
Spring House rallied along the rail in the stretch to outduel 8-1 Transduction Gold and win by 1 ½ lengths in course record time of 2:11.14, eclipsing the 2:12.07 mark of Crazy Ensign set in 2003.
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Saturday, August 23 2008
Del Mar Stable Notes 8/23/8
NO LAVA MAN, NO PACIFIC CLASSIC RUNNER IN '08 FOR O'NEILL
For the past three years at this time of the Del Mar season, trainer Doug O'Neill has been deep into getting Lava Man ready for the Grade I, $1-million Pacific Classic.
Not so this year, what with the $5.2-million earner now retired from racing. So how does that feel? "It's kind of an empty feeling," the soft-spoken O'Neill said this morning.
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MARZELLINE WINS CTT/TOC HANDICAP
Irish-bred Marzelline, the 5-2 second choice piloted by Tyler Baze, drew away in the final sixteenth to win the featured $85,400 CTT and Thoroughbred Owners of California Handicap Friday at Del Mar.
Marzelline, owned by Peter Harris and trained by Ben Cecil, won by two lengths over High Heel Sneakers, who was 1 1/2 lengths in front of the even-money favored Green Lyons. The latter was compromised by traffic problems during the mile and three-eighths test over the infield Jimmy Durante Turf Course."
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Del Mar Stable Notes 8/22/8
WELL ARMED RANKS AS RODNEY DANGERFIELD OF PACIFIC CLASSIC
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, as in singer Aretha Franklin's rhythm-and-blues anthem or comedian Rodney Dangerfield's "I can't get no ... ", is what appears to be lacking for Well Armed's credentials heading into Sunday's Grade I, $1-million Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles on Del Mar's main track.
Dismissed at 10-1 on the morning line, Well Armed, trained by Eoin Harty and to be ridden by regular pilot Aaron Gryder, brings to the race a resume that includes three victories, a second and a third in six starts for the Harty barn since 2007.
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Friday, August 22 2008
RENEGADE RUBY WINS DEL MAR FEATURE
Mercedes Stable's Renegade Ruby, the 3-2 favorite under jockey Tyler Baze, gamely withstood the late challenge of strongly-supported Brendolyn to win Thursday's feature, a one-mile event over the infield grass course.
Renegade Ruby took charge in the stretch and appeared en route to a clear victory until Brendolyn rallied late to get within a head of the winner at the wire. Silver Moonshine was third, 2 1/2 lengths back of the runner-up and a nose in front of Rosangela in the field of seven older fillies and mares.
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Thursday, August 21 2008
Del Mar Stable Notes 8/21/8
FAVORITISM GOES TO GO BETWEEN IN $1-MILLION PACIFIC CLASSIC
Go Between, the 3-1 morning-line favorite for Sunday's Grade I, $1-million Pacific Classic on Del Mar's main track, is a study in consistency over the past year, and a good bit of that is the result of an obvious fondness for synthetic surfaces.
The 5-year-old son of Point Given has been worse than second only once in his last eight starts. Five of those races -- and all four this year -- have come on synthetic surfaces, three of them in Southern California.
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Sunday’s $1-Million Pacific Classic Draws 11 Top Runners
A deep, talented and highly competitive field of 11 older horses was assigned posts for Sunday's 18th edition of the $1,000,000 Pacific Classic at a gala draw party conducted Wednesday evening at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, the deluxe resort hotel along the coast south of Del Mar racetrack.
The lukewarm favorite in the Grade I mile and a quarter that is the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's centerpiece event is the Eastern invader Go Between, who'll carry a morning line of 3-1 and break from Post 6 in the well-matched lineup. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott shipped his charge to Southern California for the fourth time this year and once again commissioned the saddle services of the 2007 Eclipse Award-winning rider Garrett Gomez for his Pacific Classic run.
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