Tamarando rallies to take Del Mar Futurity

Last updated: 9/4/13 10:23 PM

Tamarando proved best in the Del Mar Futurity

(Benoit Photos)

Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams’ homebred Tamarando came flying in the lane
to just get up on the wire for a half-length win in the Grade 1, $301,500
Del Mar
Futurity on the track’s closing day card. With jockey Julien Leparoux in the
irons, the Bertrando colt finished seven Polytrack furlongs in 1:23 to pay $17.80
for the win as the seventh choice in the 11-horse field.

Tamarando took three tries to break his maiden for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer,
finally getting that elusive first victory on August 18 while going 5 1/2
furlongs at Del Mar. Prior to that, the dark bay was second at the track a month
earlier and fourth over Hollywood Park’s Cushion Track in June.

“We loved this
horse at seven furlongs,” Hollendorfer said. “I was thinking about running in
the (six-furlong I’m
Smokin on Monday for Cal-breds) but we decided to go for the big moment. I guess
I’m glad we did now.

“I’ve never won this race before, so it’s a special moment and a special
horse,” the Hall of Famer added. “He looks like a pretty good candidate to do something next
year. I was a little disappointed that he was as far back early as he was, but
apparently that’s the way he wants to run.”

Indexical set the opening splits of :22 3/5 and :45 just a head in front of
Can the Man while Alpine Luck also kept in close attendance. Instead of trying
to go with the front runners, Leparoux allowed Tamarando to settle off the rail
near the rear on the backstretch. The two-year-old maintained a wide trip
heading into the turn and was four wide entering the stretch.

By this point Can the Man had taken over and was reaching hard for the wire
before the rest of the field caught up. It wasn’t meant to be, though, as first
Tamarando and then Dance With Fate rallied fast down the center of the track to
take the top two spots.

“(Trainer) Jerry (Hollendorfer) just told me to ride it as it came up. To get a spot and see what
happens,” Leparoux explained. “From the outside post, I knew I was going to probably wind up going
wide, but that was OK. He’s the kind of horse who wants to run from the back, so
that’s what we were ready to do.

“I felt I could move well with him at any point.
He just felt strong. He’s a handy horse. And I think the farther the better with
him. Definitely the farther the better.”

Tamarando’s family has a knack for winning the Del Mar Futurity

(Benoit Photos)

Can the Man wound up a half-length farther back in third, a nose in front of
7-2 favorite Alberts Hope who was in turn a neck up on fifth-placer Guns Loaded.
California Chrome, Indexical, Alpine Luck, Rum Point, Celtic Moon and Skydreamin
completed the order of finish.

“I was in a good
position with him. I liked what was happening and I thought he’d pick it up
late. But he only ran in spots. He’s still a little green. He’s going to get
better,” said Alonso Quinonez, who had piloting duties aboard Alberts Hope.

The California-bred Tamarando is out of the Grade 3-placed Dehere mare
Tamarack Bay, making him a half-brother to stakes winners Luckarack and U’narack
as well as stakes-placed Tamarack Smarty.

Tamarando followed in the hoofsteps of his family in taking the Del Mar
Futurity. Not only did his sire capture the 1991 edition but his third dam produced the 1993 winner of the race in Winning Pact.
That same mare also foaled Group 2 victor Half a Year and the dam of Grade 3 scorer Cat’s Career.

Others of note in this female line include Grade/Group 1 scorers So Many Ways
and No Nay Never as well as multiple Grade 2 king Event of the Year.

Now boasting a 2-1-0 mark from four career starts, Tamarando has earned $243,120 in
lifetime earnings.

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