Banned edges Midnight Interlude in Del Mar Derby

Banned ran 67 feet farther than Midnight Interlude (far side), according to Trakus (Benoit Photos) Glen Hill Farm’s BANNED (Kitten’s Joy) brought the most impressive turf resume into Sunday’s $250,000 Del Mar Derby (G2), but the 4-5 favorite had to draw on all of his class to prevail. Parked out wide for much of the way, the Tom Proctor colt engaged a stubborn foe in Midnight Interlude (War Chant) and fought his way to victory by a nose. Midnight Interlude, who captured the Santa Anita Derby (G1) before reinventing himself as a  turf performer, capitalized on his rail draw to bid for the early lead. As he and pace rival Thirtyfirststreet (Good Journey) led the field through an opening quarter in :23 3/5 and around the clubhouse turn, tragedy was unfolding near the back. La Jolla H. (G2) winner Burns (Unusual Heat) broke down, and jockey Patrick Valenzuela quickly pulled him up. The rest of the participants continued on their way. Midnight Interlude kept his head in front of Thirtyfirststreet through splits of :47 4/5 and 1:12 2/5. Extensive (Purge), Banned’s erstwhile stablemate before being claimed for $80,000 by Vladimir Cerin, tracked the leaders. Nearby, Banned was kept in the clear, several paths out, by Garrett Gomez.

While Extensive drew alongside Midnight Interlude and Thirtyfirststreet on
the far turn, Banned also took off. The odds-on choice displayed his trademark
burst of speed, and by the time he swung into the stretch, he appeared ready to
overwhelm his rivals. Thirtyfirststreet threw in the towel, and Extensive could
never quite get past, but Midnight Interlude was not done yet.

Countering Banned’s thrust, Midnight Interlude regained the advantage for a
few strides. It was now Banned’s turn, and he had a winning riposte. Surging
once more, Banned had the final word at the wire. After completing 1 1/8 miles
on the firm turf in 1:47 4/5, he returned $3.80, $2.80 and $2.60.

“I was up a little closer than normal with him, but that was by plan,” Gomez
said. “They don’t back up a whole lot on this turf course, so you have to be
aware of that. I was giving up ground, but I thought I could in order to
maintain my position. When I asked him to, he got after it.

“At the wire I knew it was close. Rafael (Bejarano on Midnight Interlude)
asked me past the wire if I’d won it. I thought maybe I had him just by a hair.
My horse’s head was down and I thought that was the difference.”

“An overland trip today,” Proctor said, “but you know the horse that ran
second (Midnight Interlude) won the Santa Anita Derby and it looked like he
(Midnight Interlude) came back at him after you thought he’d put him away. You
know, good horses have to overcome adversity here and there.

“It’s probably not his best race, but everything said it’s good to win. We’ve
been beat in a lot of photos.”

“He ran really good,” Bejarano said of Midnight Interlude. “Really good and
very game. (The winner) passed me easy (at the top of the stretch) and I thought
I was going to be out of it. But my horse dug back in and really came on. He
tried so hard. He really likes the grass. He likes the dirt, too, but he really
likes the grass.”

Third-placer Extensive hung tough and was beaten a grand total of a
half-length. Cloud Man (Thunder Gulch) nosed out Akkadian (Tiznow) for fourth.
Dreamy Kid (Lemon Drop Kid), Proctor’s other entrant Lil Bit O’Fun (Langfuhr)
and Thirtyfirststreet rounded out the order of finish.

Sadly, Burns could not be saved. He fractured sesamoid bones in his right
foreleg and was humanely euthanized.

Great Warrior (Brz) (Leroidesanimaux [Brz]) was withdrawn after missing in a
photo in Friday’s El Cajon S.

Banned gave Glen Hill Farm its third Del Mar Derby, after Right Honorable (1973) and Relaunch (1979) (Benoit Photos) Banned has developed into one of the nation’s leading turf sophomores. In the May 6 American Turf S. (G2) at Churchill Downs, he rallied from 12 lengths back to win in flashy style by 4 1/2 lengths. His performance was less electrifying in the June 18 Jefferson Cup (G3) over the same course, where he was rank early but still got the job done by two lengths. Banned then took his show on the road and endured a pair of honorable defeats. A wide-trip runner-up by a neck in the July 16 Virginia Derby (G2) at Colonial Downs, he flattened out for third in the August 13 Secretariat S. (G1) on yielding ground at Arlington Park. With the top two being Irish Derby (Ire-G1) winner Treasure Beach (GB) (Galileo [Ire]) and French Group 3 scorer Ziyarid (Ire) (Desert Style), Banned finished best of the American-based entrants. His rebound in the Del Mar Derby boosted his bankroll to $599,476 from his 10-5-1-2 line. “We put him on the plane (after the Secretariat) and brought him out here,” Proctor said. “We wanted to see how we was doing and had to look him over a lot, but he never gave any indication he wasn’t doing well.

“We’ll keep him out here and probably just (aim for) the Oak Tree Derby ([G2]
at Santa Anita on October 15). The Breeders’ Cup, maybe next year if he’s still
around. The Breeders’ Cup is the end-all for everybody but me. I’m not a big
Breeders’ Cup fan.”

Banned’s success this season was presaged by a promising juvenile campaign.
Fifth in his Saratoga debut on dirt last August, Banned’s love for the turf was
immediate when romping by three lengths in a Belmont Park maiden the following
month. After a five-length allowance score on Keeneland’s turf in October,
Banned was sent away at 5-1 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G2) at
Churchill. Though he made a bid for the lead rounding the final turn, Banned
weakened to fifth, 2 3/4 lengths behind Pluck (More Than Ready).

Bred by Ken and Sarah Ramsey in Kentucky, Banned was a $130,000 Fasig-Tipton
Kentucky October yearling. He’s the second registered foal out of the winning
Cardinalli (Capote) and has an unnamed yearling half-brother by Catienus.
Banned’s second dam is the Grade 2-placed multiple stakes winner Footing (Forty
Niner) and his third dam is the multiple stakes-winning Footy (Topsider). This
is the family of Canadian Grade 2 winner Masseuse (Dynaformer) and Argentinean
Group 1 victress Peristaltica (Arg) (Interprete).

Banned’s sixth dam was Romanita (Roman), who was voted juvenile filly
champion of 1956 by the Thoroughbred Racing Association.