An upset appeared to be brewing in Saturday’s $201,500 Joe Hernandez (G2) when the 12.90-1 Sumter kicked away from the 9-10 Motorious down the Santa Anita stretch. But the favorite went into overdrive in the final yards and willed his head in front at the wire.
Trained by Phil D’Amato and ridden by Antonio Fresu, Motorious was backed into odds-on territory off his near-miss in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at Del Mar. The British-bred gelding also had strong form over Santa Anita’s hillside course, however, and he needed all of the about 6 1/2-furlong distance to nab Sumter.
Although Sumter had experience on the downhill as well, he had been competing at a mile or beyond in his last six starts. The cutback suited Sumter as he came close to scoring his first graded victory.
Motorious and Sumter raced nearly in tandem in the early going, settled in fourth and fifth, respectively, off the pace. Up front, the 68-1 longest shot on the board, Code Duello, was rattling off fractions of :21.81 and :43.78 on the firm turf.
Sumter had the advantage of saving a bit more ground from post 3, while Motorious was racing wider from post 6. That almost became the salient point when the two advanced to tackle Code Duello, and Sumter found the sharper change of gear in midstretch.
Yet Motorious kept coming relentlessly to rescue his backers in the nick of time. Clocking 1:11.86, the son of Muhaarar improved his record to 21-8-5-2, $807,617.
Irideo closed from last to grab third, and Code Duello exceeded market expectations by hanging on for fourth. Next came Gaslight Dancer, Central Dispatch, Air Force Red, and Unconquerable Keen, who was wrapped up on once he wasn’t responding. Sorrento Sky was scratched.
“He’s proved to be a very good horse sprinting and going down the hill,” Fresu said of Motorious. “Today, I tried to give him a really good warm-up. He was kind of slow in the beginning, and it was kind of hard to get into his rhythm. When I let him loose down the lane, he just kept grinding and I thought he finished best.
“I was always confident in my horse. I know he had taken some time, but I know that he is going to get there. Phil’s done a great job with him.”
D’Amato was not as confident watching the stretch run.
“I was very nervous,” the trainer freely admitted. “Mike Smith (on Sumter) slipped up on the inside and got the jump on us. It was a dogfight from there on out. Luckily, we prevailed.
“Antonio (Fresu) said he was nice and relaxed going into the gate, and he thought maybe a little too relaxed, so he broke him off away from the pony to get him on his toes and I think that was a smart move. Got him on his toes and in tactical position to get the job done.”
Anthony Fanticola’s Motorious was earning his fourth stakes trophy, all in graded contests. Successful in the 2023 San Simeon (G3) at this course and distance, the bay captured the past two editions of the five-furlong Green Flash H. (G3) at Del Mar. He also placed second in last year’s Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G2) at Churchill Downs and the Clocker’s Corner S. here. If not for traffic trouble when fifth as the favorite in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, Motorious might have collected another black-type credit.
“You have to be a really good horse to adapt to the different distances,” D’Amato observed. “He has a great turn of foot, and I think that older disposition that he’s had now has helped him in these victories.”
Six-year-old Motorious is out of the multiple Group 3-placed Pastoral Pursuits mare Squash, from the further family of Grade 1 star and $2.3 million-earner Lea. Other maternal relatives include Grade/Group 2 scorers Grassy, Lady in Waiting, and the South African Welwitschia.
Later in the $101,500 Blue Norther S. for juvenile fillies, the Bob Baffert-trained Casalu rolled to her first stakes win. The 5.50-1 chance, under a well-judged ride by Kazushi Kimura, got the jump on 6-5 favorite Supa Speed and held sway by 1 1/2 lengths. A $775,000 OBS April purchase by Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, Casalu covered the grassy mile in 1:34.63.
The complexion of the race changed with the scratch of morning-line favorite Will Then. Supa Speed inherited the mantle of favoritism, but wound up third, a neck behind the 8-1 runner-up Schilflied. Tigerish closed for fourth, overtaking the overeager pacesetter Resolve. Sea Runner, Ce La Vi Charli, and Don’t Tell Tammo rounded out the order of finish.
Casalu wired her debut sprinting five furlongs on Del Mar’s main track July 21, but she didn’t progress in similar conditions when third in the Sorrento (G3) and later fourth in the Anoakia. The bay hinted that turf routing might be her future through her runner-up efforts in the Surfer Girl (G3) and Jimmy Durante (G3) last time out. Casalu dropped the blinkers that day, but put them back on here, and upped her bankroll to $174,546 from her 7-2-2-1 line.
By well-regarded freshman sire Caracaro, a son of the late Uncle Mo, Casalu is a half-sister to the stakes-placed Twirled. Their dam, the Medaglia d’Oro mare Key d’Oro, was herself produced by a full sister to the brilliant sprinter Yankee Gentleman. Deeper in this female line, one finds champion Shared Belief.
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