Del Mar Derby attracts a well-matched field;
Potesta heads Torrey Pines
Sunday’s Grade 2, $300,000
Del Mar
Derby at nine furlongs on turf came up very contentious, with the winners of
the Grade 2 La Jolla (Old Time Hockey) and both divisions of the local Oceanside
Stakes (Midnight Crooner and My Best Brother) present as well as dangerous East
Coast shipper Howe Great, and Sunday’s dynamite 11-race program at Del Mar also
features well-regarded three-year-old filly Potesta, who will return from a
71-day layoff in the $100,000
Torrey
Pines Stakes.
Eleven sophomores passed through the entry box, but only 10 will be allowed
to start in the Del Mar Derby and Howe Great drew the far outside in the main
body of the field. The Graham Motion-trained son of Hat Trick captured his first
three starts on turf over the winter, including a comfortable one-length win
over Dullahan in the Grade 3 Palm Beach at Gulfstream Park, before an unplaced
finish in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes on Polytrack. Howe Great has raced
exclusively on the green since then, recording a troubled third behind the
Silver Max in the Grade 2 American Turf and a close second to Summer Front in
the Grade 3 Hill Prince two back.
The dark bay colt tuned up for the Del Mar Derby with an easy 1 1/4-length
victory in the July 21 Jersey Derby at Monmouth Park, and Howe Great will pick
up the services of Mike Smith.
Old Time Hockey came up a little short in third in the second division of the
Oceanside, but the Tom Proctor pupil put it all together last time in the La
Jolla, rallying to win in the final strides while stretching out from a mile to
8 1/2 furlongs. The Smarty Jones gelding may continue to appreciate the added
ground Sunday and Joe Talamo retains the mount. Midnight Crooner, a full brother
to Grade 1 winner Midnight Interlude, could challenge for Bob Baffert. The bay
son of War Chant has been freshened off his win in the first division of the
Oceanside and will keep Rafael Bejarano in the saddle.
My Best Brother led wire to wire in the second division of the Oceanside and
just missed on the front end of the La Jolla, finishing second by a nose. Martin
Garcia will guide the Julio Canani-trained front runner. Tones, a rallying
runner-up to My Best Brother in the Oceanside, can’t be dismissed from top three
consideration for Leandro Mora, who is subbing for Doug O’Neill, and All Squared
Away and Smart Ellis will enter the Del Mar Derby off good-looking
allowance/optional claiming scores over the Del Mar turf.
Potesta figures to be an overwhelming favorite in the one-mile Torrey Pines
for three-year-old fillies. The Macho Uno filly broke her maiden by 11 1/2
lengths in her second career start May 3 and then jumped straight to stakes
company for Mike Mitchell, winning the Grade 2 Hollywood Oaks by a nose over the
Grade 1-winning Eden’s Moon. That victory put Potesta in the discussion for
champion three-year-old filly and the November 2 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic
is the ultimate goal for the promising dark bay. She will face six opponents
from the rail post with Talamo.
Killer Graces, a Grade 1-winning juvenile filly, and multiple California-bred
stakes winner Starlight Magic are her main rivals.
The $85,000
Adoration
will also be offered, and the one-mile event for fillies and mares drew a
solid field of eight, including Grade 1 winner Home Sweet Aspen; multiple Grade
2 queen Briecat, who captured the 2009 edition of this race; Grade 2 winner
Great Hot, winner of last year’s Torrey Pines over track/distance; Graser, a
neck second in the recent Sandy Blue Handicap on turf; and Miss Mittagong, who
will return off a 5 1/2-month layoff after placing in four consecutive graded
races this winter.
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com