Piloted by Tyler Baze, Evita Argentina entered contention by closing strongly on the far outside on the stretch turn, then kept to her task to grind out a one-length decision over fast-closing Stardom Bound, the 9-5 favorite in the field of ten fillies.
Evita Argentina, a daughter of 2003 Pacific Classic winner Candy Ride, ran the
6 1/2 furlongs in 1:17.51 and returned $17.20, $6.40 and $3.60. Stardom Bound paid $3.80 and $2.80, while Emmy Darling paid $2.80 to show.
The winner, owned by Halo Farms and Three Sisters Thoroughbreds and trained by Del Mar's leading conditioner, John Sadler, earned $90,000 for the victory. She broke her maiden at Hollywood Park June 25 at odds of 19-1.
The Sorrento Stakes, a Grade III race, is a key steppingstone to the $250,000 Del Mar Debutante at seven furlongs Monday, Sept. 1.
Attendance Wednesday was 10,041.
Sorrento Stakes
Grade III
TYLER BAZE (Evita Argentina) -- "Perfect trip. Couldn't have asked for more. I knew that the 6 (Stardom Bound) on my inside was the one to beat and when I saw she got away from there bad I was up and cruisin'. John (trainer John Sadler) didn't tell me anything today. He knows I know her. I've been on her plenty. She just ran her race. We've been working with her; she's a project. She's a Larry (assistant trainer Larry Benevidez) project. And the project is working."
MIKE SMITH (Stardom Bound) -- "She got away bad again. She was standing in there perfect and the ground just seemed to come away from her. She lost her whole back end. Then I had to tap on the brakes with her coming into the turn. She spotted them all that and she still came running. If she hadn't had that bad start, she might have gotten away with the rest and still won it. As it is, it cost her the race. You hate to lose one like that."
DAVID FLORES (Emmy Darling) -- "She was just starting to get in gear and I had to reach and grab her. It cost me. She wasn't even up to full speed yet. If I get to go running I think I might win the race. But not when it happens like that."
MARTIN GARCIA (Glitter City) -- "She was lugging in on me really badly. I did all I could do to pull her out, but she was lugging bad."
JOHN SADLER (Evita Argentina) -- "This filly has been with Larry [assistant trainer Larry Benevidez] at Hollywood Park. We decided since it was working so well, why change it and bring her down here? Tyler did a great job with her. We felt she had a nice kick and would like the distance. We thought we had a good chance to be 1-2, but Emmy Darling had a lot of trouble all the way down the backside and then got cut off in the stretch. We expected Emmy Darling to be sitting close and the other horse to be a little farther back. But Evita had the benefit of a much better trip."
What's next? "They'll both go to the Debutante." The Grade I Del Mar Debutante will be run Monday, September 1.
On winning his fourth stakes race this meet, thus tying him with Mel Stute for 10th on the all-time stakes winning list at Del Mar with 26: "That must mean I'm getting old," Sadler said with a huge grin.
FRACTIONS: :22.43 :46.37 1:11.04 1:17.51
Halo Farms is the nom de course of Ted Aroney. Three Sisters Thoroughbreds is the nom de course of Ron Judy. Both are from Rancho Santa Fe, CA.
The stakes win was the first of the meet for Tyler Baze. It is his 14th overall at Del Mar.
The stakes win was the fourth of the meet for trainer John Sadler and his 26th overall at Del Mar. He won last year's Sorrento with Tasha's Miracle.