Dr. Venkman cuts corner in BC WAYI Pat O’Brien

Trainer Mark Glatt wasn’t exactly thrilled when Dr. Venkman drew the rail in Saturday’s $250,500 Pat O’Brien (G2) at Del Mar, but the post ended up being a blessing in disguise. 

When the laboring favorite Speed Boat Beach drifted off the fence, a giant gap opened up, turning into the stretch, and Dr. Venkman was able to take the shortest route home. The Ghostzapper gelding burst through to earn his spot in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1). 

Runner-up Stronghold, a fellow son of Ghostzapper, rallied wider and belatedly, yet still missed by only a half-length in his return. Also closing was the veteran Express Train, who was another half-length away in third.

Dr. Venkman hadn’t won since last summer’s San Diego H. (G2) here in his two-turn debut. Sidelined after his fourth in the 1 1/4-mile Pacific Classic (G1), the lightly-raced five-year-old reverted to sprinting in 2025. But Dr. Venkman had the misfortune to hook the ultra-talented Nysos in the May 31 Triple Bend (G3) at Santa Anita, and he settled for a distant second in his comeback. 

Next time, Dr. Venkman shipped to Churchill Downs for the Kelly’s Landing (G3), where he went off as the favorite, on the rail, and succumbed in second. Back at Del Mar for the Bing Crosby (G1), Dr. Venkman broke from post 2 and failed to fire his best shot in fourth. 

Hence, Glatt was hoping for an outside post to help Dr. Venkman turn things around. While he didn’t get that wish, there was another new variable for the Pat O’Brien – a rider change to Umberto Rispoli. His erstwhile jockey, Antonio Fresu, is also the regular rider of Stronghold, and Fresu maintained his partnership with the younger colt. 

Just prior to the start, both Spirit of Makena and Stronghold pinged their respective gates open. Spirit of Makena broke through, while Stronghold was restrained still within his gate. 

As expected, the 7-5 favorite Speed Boat Beach zoomed to the lead, with his Bob Baffert stablemate, Maymun, also eager off his 18-month layoff. Speed Boat Beach was marginally ahead through fractions of :22.53 and :44.87. Favorite backers had cause for concern, though, when Speed Boat Beach came out like a tiring horse.

Dr. Venkman, who had been rating a couple of lengths off the pace, took full advantage to cut the corner and strike the front. Maymun gamely tried to persevere before his lack of race-fitness told, and he weakened in deep stretch.

Stronghold and Express Train, the last two of the quintet in midstretch, did their best work late. The four-year-old Stronghold was getting to Dr. Venkman a bit more than the eight-year-old Express Train, who began to hang in the final strides.

Dr. Venkman did enough to keep Stronghold at bay. Finishing seven furlongs in 1:21.53, Dr. Venkman returned $7.40. 

Stronghold, racing for the first time since his debacle in the Jan. 25 Pegasus World Cup (G1), is entitled to move forward off this tightener. If we get a rematch of this all-Ghostzapper exacta in the Dirt Mile, it would offer a different dynamic around two turns. 

Maymun likewise fared promisingly in his comeback, checking in just a length off Express Train in fourth. Speed Boat Beach disappointed by trailing home again, although not to the same degree as his remote last in the May 1 St. Matthews Overnight S. at Churchill. 

Spirit of Makena, unfortunately, was pulled up with an injury approaching the far turn and left the track in the ambulance. Trainer George Papaprodromou reported on X (formerly Twitter) that the seven-year-old was “resting comfortably in his stall” ahead of surgery Sunday morning. 

The Pat O’Brien field was reduced by a trio of scratches – Tapalo and Awesome Rhythm, both cross-entered to Sunday’s eighth race, and Man O Rose.

Glatt believed that the smaller field made the rail less of a pressurized post for Dr. Venkman.

“With the late scratches, and the leaders floated off the rail a little bit, it didn’t ever get tight,” his trainer said. “Umberto rode a very patient ride, and when it opened up, he was able to get through. When he made the lead, he started to pull himself up, so maybe a little anxious there late.”

Rispoli credited Dr. Venkman’s attitude and versatility. 

“He’s a smart horse; he’s a fighter. He knows how to run his races,” Rispoli said. “I just kept him on the fence, just looking ahead of me, looking to see a horse on the rail. No one wanted to be there, so at that point, I saw that was going to be my gap. That is the spot where you get the momentum. 

“Every time he runs, he runs with his heart. He can run a mile or a sprint. This horse can be versatile.”

Campaigned by Alipony Racing, Dan J. Agnew, Clint Bunch, and James Hailey, Dr. Venkman has bankrolled $661,300 from his 10-4-4-0 line. The bay placed in his first two stakes attempts, the 2023 Perryville S. at Keeneland and the 2024 Triple Bend (then a Grade 2), before his San Diego breakthrough. With a 4-for-6 mark around Del Mar, Dr. Venkman could muster home court advantage in the Breeders’ Cup.