Del Mar Daily Notebook

DEL MAR DAILY NOTEBOOK

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2007

by Brian P. Turner

A field of six went to the gate for Thursday's Harry F. Brubaker H. for

three-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles over the Jimmy Durante Turf Course.

Warrior Song (Unbridled's Song) appeared to be one of the speedier members of

the field and true to form he bounded out of the gate and onto the lead, guiding

the field through early fractions of :23 2/5 and :46 3/5. The chestnut took this

lead into the stretch drive and it appeared that he would be hard to run down,

but as he neared the wire the fact that he was making his first start in nearly

11 months appeared to catch up with him.

It was at this time that MASTERPIECE (Arg) (Southern Halo), who went off as

the 14-1 longest shot on the board, made his move along the outside and wrestled

away the lead before continuing on to hit the finish line a length in front. The

dark bay was coming off a lackluster effort against allowance company on the

Cushion Track at Hollywood, but what he did have going for him here was the fact

that he had not finished off the board in three previous starts on the Del Mar

grass. Though this was his first win here, it could not have come at a better

time for the connections.

Warrior Song held on to finish second, a nose in front of a hard-charging

Chattahoochee War (War Chant) in third.

There were six sprints, but no routes, contested over the Polytrack on the

day, with horses closing from off the pace winning five of them. As for the

grass, in addition to the feature, there was one turf sprint contested which was

won by a front runner.

Michael Baze rode two winners today and still leads the way in the jockey

standings with 35 for the meet. Joe Talamo added one to his total today but

remains a distant second with 27. Victor Espinoza went winless today but remains

in third with 17.

Doug O'Neill saddled two winners on the day to open up a decent lead in the

trainer standings with 14 for the meet. Jeff Mullins didn't have any runners on

the day but remains in second with 10. Peter Miller and Craig Dollase each added

one to their totals and are in a tie for third with nine.

Handicappers get ready as no one connected on the Pick 6 today, which leaves

a carryover going into Friday's card of $138,250.

Horses to Watch

1ST - ASK SAM (Cryptoclearance) had a very nice career debut for trainer

O'Neill in this Cal-bred maiden special weight event. The three-year-old filly

was content to lay off the pace early through opening fractions of :22 2/5 and

:46 3/5 before taking command in the stretch drive to cruise home to an easy

six-length victory. O'Neill isn't known for having his first-time starters ready

to fire at first asking, so it will be interesting to see what the bay will be

capable of in her next start.

4TH - FANTASTIC SPRING (Fantastic Light) was extremely impressive in this

allowance/optional claiming event on the grass. The bay took the lead out of the

gate and quickly opened up two lengths on the field. From there, the

four-year-old filly did not back up at all as she finished the race exactly the

same way she started - on the lead and two lengths in front.

Tomorrow's Outlook - Friday, August 17

A field of seven has been entered for Friday's Rancho Bernardo H. (G3) for fillies

and mares, three-years-old and up, going 6 1/2 furlongs over the Polytrack.

RIVER'S PRAYER (Devon Lane) will be looking for her fifth win in a row with her

most recent success coming in the Princess Rooney H. (G1), where she pressed the

pace throughout to come up with the half-length win at the wire. The gray

possesses a ton of early speed and there really appears to be no one in the

field capable of running with her early. She should be able to dictate the pace

and have plenty left at the end for the run to the finish line. The one knock

against the filly is that she has yet to try a synthetic surface and, as has

been proven throughout the meet thus far, this does make her vulnerable.

STRONG FAITH (Pioneering) missed by only three-quarters of a length last out

in the A Gleam Invitational H. (G2) at Hollywood where she vied for the lead

from start only to settle for second. The dark bay has shown the

versatility to rally from off the pace in the past, which will give jockey

Martin Garcia some options should the pace be too hot early. The six-year-old

mare has yet to visit the winner's circle this year but could be rounding into

form for a top effort. PUSSYCAT DOLL (Real Quiet) failed miserably in the A

Gleam as the heavy favorite. This was the bay's first attempt over a synthetic

surface and after being in contention early, she faded badly late to finish

sixth, beaten by eight lengths. The five-year-old mare has fired a couple of

bullets over the Del Mar strip in the mornings, which indicates that she may be

ready to get back on track.

RED DIADEM (GB) (Pivotal) rallied from well off the pace to take the victory

by a half-length in the Daisycutter H. on the grass here last out. The dark bay

has had some success on synthetic surfaces in the past and could have a say

against these with her best effort. LADY GAMER (Game Plan) has yet to face the

quality of competition she hooks up against today, but she was a perfect

three-for-three over the synthetic strip at Hollywood. The bay has posted five

nice works here in the mornings, which includes a bullet clocking on July 31.

She definitely rates as an interesting price play.

CANDY JO (Maria's Mon) finished well up the track last out in the A Gleam and

would need to show a whole lot more to have an impact here. BETTARUN FAST (Kelly

Kip) is a multiple Grade 3 winner who has fallen on some hard times of late. The

bay would need a serious reversal in form.

Friday's Best Plays

2ND - ALEXANDRA ROSE (SAf) (Caesour) will be taking a class drop after coming

up five lengths short in the CashCall Mile Invitational S. (G2) at Hollywood in

her North American debut. The dark bay hooked a very tough field in that event

but should find the group in this eight-furlong allowance/optional claiming

event on the grass to be more to her liking. The five-year-old mare tops the

field in BRIS Prime Power by more than six points and she also leads the way in BRIS

Class rating. A repeat of the BRIS Speed rating earned in her U.S. bow would be

enough to get her into the winner's circle here.

3RD - COMISSIONER GORDON (Gotham City) was the victim of a bit of a troubled

trip last out when finishing third, beaten by 3 3/4 lengths, against the same

level of starter allowance competition he faces today. He got trapped in a bit

tight but once he got free, the two-year-old gelding finished with nice energy

late but had no shot at the leaders. The bay will be reunited in today's event

with jockey Clinton Potts, who rode him to an impressive 4 1/4-length victory in

his career debut. Comissioner Gordon's BRIS Class rating tops the field and he

is near the top in BRIS Prime Power.