Enriched earns breakthrough win in Del Mar Mile

"I rode him with confidence -- a lot of confidence," Rosario said. "I've

ridden this horse before (three times) and I know how good he is. He broke

really well today and I wasn't going to hold him back. He was just going along

there easy and I let him go. Then when we turned for home he went perfect. I

asked him for what he had and he was perfect. He finished strong and he galloped

out strong, too. He's a nice horse. No doubt about it. He's a nice horse."

Meteore was a neck up on Bruce's Dream for runner-up honors. Sent off at 7-1,

Meteore gave back $6.20 and $3.20, and Bruce's Dream provided $2.60 as the 2-1

second choice. The $1 exotics totaled $16.40 (exacta), $52.10 (trifecta) and

$133.70 (6-4-7-1 superfecta) with Blue Chagall (Fr) (Testa Rossa) along for

fourth, another 1 1/4 lengths back. Scenic Blast (Aus) (Scenic [Ire]) checked in

fifth, trailed by Moudez (Ire) (Xaar).

"Oh, they go too slow -- too slow," lamented Meteore's rider Rafael Bejarano.

"I made a move at the half-mile (pole) because I felt how slow they were going

up there. I had to force the issue or the leader was just going to walk home. If

my horse had something to run at, different story."  

Garrett Gomez, who guided Bruce's Dream, was blaming himself.

"I told him (trainer Mike Puype) that this one was on me," Gomez said of his

third-place finish. "When Bejarano's horse (Meteore) came up outside, I could

have gone with my horse. And the way it turned out, I wished I would have. But I

sat down in there and waited. I thought he'd fire and we'd be all right. But the

leader just had it too easy. If I'd have ridden him like a regular horse, we

might have won this thing. But I waited and it probably cost us."  

"Way too slow early," echoed Mike Smith, Scenic Blast's pilot. "Just way too

slow. Nothing to run at. Nothing at all."

Owned by W.C. Racing, Westside Rentals.com and Neil Haymes, Enriched improved

his scorecard to 21-7-5-5, $494,656. Like Lava Man, Enriched was claimed by

O'Neill. He began his career by racing for breeder Carol Lingenfelter, with his

highlight being a third-place effort in the California Cup Mile H. last October.

Enriched was dropped in for a $32,000 tag next time out at Oak Tree, and O'Neill

sprang into action.

In his first start for his new barn, Enriched finished second in the On Trust

H., and he followed up with a creditable fifth in the Citation H. (G1). He

continued to garner stakes credits by placing in the Sensational Star H. and

Crystal Water H. on the grass, and in the Alysheba S. (G3) in his dirt debut at

Churchill Downs. Enriched returned to his home circuit to crush allowance foes

in a Hollywood turf allowance. Third in the Eddie Read S. (G1) in his ensuing

outing, he wheeled back one week later to fill that same spot in the San Diego

H. (G2) on the Polytrack, reiterating his credentials as a triple-surface

threat.

Lava Man, an earner of more than $5.2 million, won Grade 1 races on all three categories of surfaces. His first two

Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) crowns came on dirt (2005-06), while his three-peat

occurred on the Cushion Track (2007). His Grade 1 turf trophy came in the 2006

Charles Whittingham Memorial H. (G1). Lava Man's extensive resume also includes

consecutive victories in the Santa Anita H. (G1) (2006-07); triumphs in the

Pacific Classic (G1) and Sunshine Millions Classic in 2006 and the Sunshine

Millions Turf in 2007; and scores in the 2006 Goodwood H. (G2) and the 2005

Californian S. (G2).

Their dam, the winning Nostalgia's Star mare Li'l Ms. Leonard, has an unnamed

yearling colt by Pulpit and a 2010 filly by Elusive Quality.