Del Mar Daily Notebook

DEL MAR DAILY NOTEBOOK

SATURDAY, JULY 28, 2007

by Brian P. Turner

Saturday's featured stakes offering found a field of 10 going to the gate for

the San Clemente H. (G2) for three-year-old fillies going eight furlongs on the

grass. Super Freaky (Smart Strike) was sent to the gate as the favorite off of

her recent performances on the grass against stakes competition, which included

two wins and two seconds. Both runner-up efforts came to the ultra-impressive

Valbenny (Ire) (Val Royal [Fr]) over the course of her last two starts. Without

the presence of her rival, the betting public undoubtedly felt there was nothing

standing in her way.

When the gates sprang open, Fleet Caroline (Tejano Run), who drew in from the

also-eligible list, took the early lead and guided the field through quick

opening fractions of :21 3/5 and :46 2/5, while Super Freaky was content to lay

near the middle of the pack. As the field approached the final turn, Super

Freaky began to move into position to make her bid, but she took the turn a bit

wide, and though she finished gamely late, she could do no better than fifth.

Fleet Caroline dug in determinedly as she attempted to lead the field from

gate to wire, but she could not hold off the late charge of PASSIFIED (GB)

(Compton Place), who closed with a nice turn of foot through the stretch drive

to cross the finish line a half-length in front. Passified had finished just

behind Super Freaky three starts in a row before finally not having to face her

in her most recent outing, where she rallied from just off the pace to win the

Flawlessly S. at Hollywood by a length.

Fleet Caroline, who was making her first start since winning an

allowance/optional claiming event at Hollywood back in April, held on to finish

second, a length in front of Spenditallbaby (Unusual Heat) in third.

There were seven sprints contested over the Polytrack Saturday, with horses

on or near the pace winning five of them, while the lone route was won by a

front runner. In addition to the feature, there was one other turf route

contested on the day, which was won in gate-to-wire fashion.

Michael Baze added two to his total today and still leads the way in the

jockey standings with 15 for the meet. Victor Espinoza went winless on the day

but remains in second with 10. Corey Nakatani had no mounts at Del Mar today, as

he was riding at Saratoga, but he still has possession of the third spot with

nine.

Peter Miller went winless on the day but still leads the way in the trainer

standings with six for the meet. Bobby Frankel had no starters on the day, yet

he remains in second with four. Five trainers, including Vladimir Cerin and

Brian Koriner, are tied for third with three winners each.

Horses to Watch

2ND - STRAIGHT RUN (Straight Man) put in a very nice performance in this

11-furlong marathon turf event, as he took the lead early and never looked back

on his way to a 1 1/4-length victory. The dark bay did it with an honest early

pace too, as he guided the field through fractions of :24 1/5, :47 4/5, and 1:12

1/5 before digging in determinedly through the stretch drive to claim the

victory. The gelding has now finished off the board only once in seven career

starts.

6TH - DRILL DOWN (El Corredor) broke his maiden impressively against a

stellar field in this two-year-old maiden special weight event. The dark bay was

content to stalk the pace early through opening fractions of :23 2/5 and :47 3/5

before taking command in the stretch drive to hit the finish line 2 1/4 lengths

in front. The colt's next start will undoubtedly come against stakes

competition.

8TH - FLY DORCEGO (Brz) (Choctaw Ridge) absolutely destroyed a very nice

field of horses in his North American debut for trainer Paulo Lobo. The bay was

a Group 2 winner in Brazil but was totally ignored by the betting public here as

he was sent off at 32-1. The way he ran, though, he should have been the

even-money favorite, as he was content to lay just off the pace early through an

opening quarter that went in :22 3/5 before moving up to stalk the pace in a

half that went in :46. Once the field hit the stretch, Fly Dorcego unleashed a

blazing turn of foot and quickly engulfed the field before hitting the finish

line four lengths in front under nothing but a hand ride. It will be interesting

to see what the connections have in store for him next.

Tomorrow's Outlook - Sunday, July 29

A well matched field of nine is scheduled to contest Sunday's Bing Crosby H.

(G1) for three-year-olds and upward going six furlongs over the Polytrack.

Several in this field appear to have a legitimate shot of bringing home the

victory so it would be wise to insist on value. Though

GREG'S GOLD (Lake George) missed last year's running of this event, he was

actually the victor in 2005 before an injury forced him into a long vacation

afterward, and he did not return to racing until February of this year. The gray

began his 2007 campaign with a record of 3-2-1-0 before failing badly last out

in the Aristides Breeders' Cup S. (G3) at Churchill, where he finished fourth,

beaten by 8 1/2 lengths. Given the fact that he has hit the board in 14 of 17

career starts, that effort can be forgiven as he has since returned with three

very nice works, two of which came right here at Del Mar. The six-year-old

gelding stands a legitimate shot in this event at what should be a fair price.

BORDONARO (Memo [Chi]) will undoubtedly take a great deal of the betting

public's money, and he is indeed capable of bringing home the victory. The

chestnut has yet to try an all-weather surface, but if the two bullets he has

fired over the Del Mar strip are any indication, he should have no problem with

it. The gelding is generally the model of consistency, but is coming off a

lackluster performance in the True North H. (G2) at Belmont where he finished

seventh, beaten by 7 1/2 lengths after being carried out on the turn. It would

be wise to expect a better performance here, though, and he will be extremely

dangerous if allowed to dictate the pace early. BATTLE WON (Honour and Glory)

always seems to run well in high-profile stakes races, but just seems to have

a problem with actually making it into the winner's circle. The dark bay missed

by only a half-length in last year's running of this event as he stalked the

pace early and finished well late only to come up short. The gelding is coming

off a third-place effort in the Triple Bend Invitational H. (G1) at Hollywood, where he

missed by only 1 1/2 lengths. Though Battle Won is capable of the win with his

best, he just seems to be more likely to finish second or third when all is said

and done.

E Z WARRIOR (Exploit) holds interesting possibilities in this event. He is the only three-year-old in the field,

but is also undefeated from three career

starts. The dark bay has shown the ability to either run on the lead or stalk

the pace, which should allow jockey David Flores to have him well placed

regardless of the pace scenario. Though this will be his first start since

January, the colt has been working well for his return to the track, including a bullet clocking of :59 2/5, the fastest of 90 to work that day, here

on July 22. IN SUMMATION (Put It Back) has been running on the grass since

making his first start for the always dangerous Christophe Clement in September

of last year. The dark bay is coming off a victory in the 5 1/2-furlong Sneakbox S. at Monmouth, where he rallied from just off the pace for a one-length

victory. With the amount of speed in this event, his ability to close from off

the pace definitely helps his chances.

NORTHERN SOLDIER (Yankee Victor) has run well in each of his three starts this

year, including a third-place effort last out in the Flame Thrower S. on the

grass at Hollywood. The four-year-old colt could have an impact here with any

improvement at all. DECLAN'S MOON (Malibu Moon) would need a return to his glory

days to bring home the victory here. While still extremely competitive, the

five-year-old gelding just isn't the same animal who won the Hollywood Futurity

(G1) and the Santa Catalina S. (G2) in late 2004 and early 2005.

CORAZONDELCAMPEON (Comic Strip) possesses a nice early turn of foot but may

not be able to keep up with the best of these. GOTAGHOSTOFACHANCE (Silver Ghost)

has been well beaten by several members of this field as of late and probably

doesn't have even the chance that his name indicates.

Sunday's Best Plays

3RD - BLOWOUT (Honour and Glory) has come close in each of his last two

starts at this level, finishing second both times. The dark bay is probably

the speediest member of this field but he typically stalks the pace, which should

leave him with plenty in the tank for the run to the wire. The gelding has

a nearly six-point advantage in BRIS Prime Power, and his BRIS Class rating also tops the

field. A repeat of the BRIS Speed ratings Blowout posted in his last two starts

should be enough to get the job done here.

4TH - FORWARD COMMITMENT (Monarchos) has interesting longshot potential in

this maiden special weight on the grass. The bay has a respectable

pedigree for the lawn, and trainer Brian Koriner wins with 30 percent of his

runners in the "second grass race" trainer category. The three-year-old colt ran

evenly in his only other try on the lawn and was beaten by only 4 1/2 lengths in

a sprint at Santa Anita. Forward Commitment's best BRIS Speed ratings are in

line with the best of these and, if he can carry his recent form over to the

grass, it would be enough to make him very competitive here.