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Crown of Thorns returns in Pat O'Brien
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| Crown of Thorns' last victory came in the 2008 Robert B. Lewis
(Benoit Photos) |
CROWN OF THORNS (Repent), whose career has been beset by injuries,
jump-starts his belated 2010 campaign in Saturday's $300,000
Pat
O'Brien S. (G1) at Del Mar, which will go off after the day's featured
event, the $1 million Pacific Classic (G1).
The Richard Mandella-trained Crown of Thorns first caught the eye on New
Year's Day 2008, capturing a maiden by seven lengths in his second career start.
He next stepped up to take the Robert B. Lewis S. (G2) by 2 1/2 lengths, but
infirmities ended his quest for classic glory.
The bay was not seen in action for 19 months, but picked up where he left off
with three solid efforts. After running third to eventual Malibu S. (G1) winner
M One Rifle (One Man Army) in a Del Mar allowance, Crown of Thorns finished
second in both the Ancient Title S. (G1) and Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), the
latter by a miniscule nose. If history is any indicator, fitness might not be an
issue as he returns from a layoff of nearly 10 months.
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The O'Brien, which dates to 1986, has been won three times by a three-year-old,
most recently by Zensational last year. There are a pair of sophomores in this
edition, though only one merits any serious respect. SMILING TIGER (Hold That
Tiger) has taken advantage of the paucity of capable older male sprinters in
Southern California, landing the Bing Crosby S. (G1) earlier in the meeting by 1
1/2 lengths. It was the first win in three attempts over the Del Mar Polytrack
for Smiling Tiger, who ran into a nice colt named Lookin at Lucky (Smart Strike)
last season in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and Best Pal S. (G2).
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| Smiling Tiger earned his biggest win to date in the Bing Crosby last out
(Benoit Photos) |
E Z'S GENTLEMAN (Yankee Gentleman), a non-threatening third in the Bing
Crosby, easily took the seven-furlong Triple Bend H. (G1) at Hollywood in his
penultimate start, but may not be a big enough fan of Polytrack (6-1-0-1) as he would
need to be. The same could also be said for SANGAREE (Awesome Again), whose
streak of runner-up finishes -- in the Mervyn LeRoy H. (G2), Californian S. (G2)
and Triple Bend -- ended last time with a seventh in the San Diego H. (G2).
TROPIC STORM (Stormy Atlantic), who placed in the Triple Bend, Oak Tree Mile
(G2), Longacres Mile (G3) and Ack Ack H. (G3) back in 2008, made a successful
return to the races August 6 when elevated to first in a five-furlong turf dash,
his first race in more than 22 months. The Craig Dollase trainee was entered for
a $62,500 tag in that optional claimer. The ultra-consistent HARD BILL (Chi)
(Hardy) has run worse than second only once in 13 starts, but is unproven
against graded foes.
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The stakes action kicks off Saturday with the $250,000
Del Mar
Mile (G2) on the grass. Australian Horse of the Year SCENIC BLAST (Aus)
(Scenic [Ire]), exiting a second in the Bing Crosby, is scheduled to meet
Wickerr S. hero BLUE CHAGALL (Fr) (Testa Rossa), 2009 La Jolla H. (G2) winner
METEORE (Pulpit), Eddie Read S. (G1) and San Diego third-placer ENRICHED (High
Brite), and the once-beaten stakes winner BRUCE'S DREAM (Atticus).
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