Tam Tam, Sorrento Sky, King of Gosford star on Del Mar turf

Saturday’s Pacific Classic Day card at Del Mar included three major turf stakes. 

Kentucky shipper Tam Tam plundered the $302,500 Del Mar Oaks (G1) with an ideal stalk-and-pounce trip. Trained by Phil Bauer for Rigney Racing, the 2.70-1 second choice surged past front-running favorite Kensington Lane in the stretch. Her regular pilot, Junior Alvarado, made it a Grade 1 double aboard Knightsbridge one race later in the Pacific Classic (G1). 

Although trainer Phil D’Amato was out of luck in the Del Mar Oaks, he teamed up with jockey Umberto Rispoli to win Saturday’s other two turf stakes – the $201,500 Green Flash H. (G2) and the $303,000 Del Mar Mile (G2).

Sorrento Sky uncorked a last-to-first move in the Green Flash to give D’Amato his fourth straight win in this Breeders’ Cup Challenge race. The 7-1 shot upstaged 8-5 stablemate Motorious, who had won the past three runnings, and earned a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1).

King of Gosford surged between horses in the nightcap, the Del Mar Mile. Holding on by a head, the 5.20-1 chance prevailed in a blanket finish with Detain, favored El Potente, and pacesetter Cabo Spirit. 

Del Mar Oaks (G1)

Last seen romping by 5 3/4 lengths in the June 27 Tepin S. at Churchill Downs, Tam Tam was taking her first Grade 1 test at Del Mar. Kensington Lane had just earned her top-level laurel by upsetting the Saratoga Oaks (G1) in her stateside debut, but the 1.70-1 favorite could not repeat the feat on the change of venue.

Tam Tam had the benefit of a better draw, breaking from post 3, while Kensington Lane had to hustle from post 9 to establish herself on the front end. As Kensington Lane carved out splits of :24.14, :48.29, and 1:12.82 on the firm course, Tam Tam was monitoring her in second. 

At the top of the lane, Alvarado asked Tam Tam, and the Medaglia d’Oro filly quickened well. Pulling 1 1/4 lengths clear, the bay negotiated 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.06.

The 40-1 Lookin at Diamond rallied for second by the same margin from Kensington Lane, who just salvaged third by a head from fast-finishing Green Carrera. 

A fresh import from Joseph O’Brien’s yard in Ireland, Green Carrera was off a beat slow and compromised by the steady pace. In the circumstances, she did well to close for fourth. Green Carrera will remain here with Leonard Powell, the trainer of Lookin at Diamond, who will now have half of the Del Mar Oaks superfecta in his barn. 

Inbox raced evenly in fifth. Next came Raiding Party, Victorious Dream, Define, Peanutbutterbombe, and Wild Like the West.

Tam Tam returned $7.40 while boosting her bankroll to $648,800 from her 9-4-2-2 line. The $975,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling captured her first stakes attempt in the March 28 Sanibel Island S. at Gulfstream Park. Just denied in the Edgewood (G2), she was third in the Regret (G3) before her dynamic performance in the Tepin at her Churchill base.

Bred by Stonestreet Stables in the Bluegrass, Tam Tam is out of Princess Julia, who is a daughter of Distorted Humor and champion Folklore. Also the granddam of multiple Japanese champion and Triple Crown star Contrail, Folklore hails from the family of two-time Eclipse Award champion Essential Quality. 

Green Flash H. (G2)

Three-time defending champion Motorious ranked as the 8-5 favorite to add another Green Flash trophy, but his younger stablemate, Sorrento Sky ($16), finally broke through with his first stakes victory. 

Seventh in last year’s Green Flash, Sorrento Sky had placed in five turf sprint stakes. Three of those came at Santa Anita, in the 2025 Eddie D (G2) and San Simeon (G3) down the hill as well as the Feb. 8 Clocker’s Corner S. He’d missed by only a half-length in the past two editions of the Stormy Liberal S., held at this course and distance, during Del Mar’s Bing Crosby season in the fall. 

A gelding operation has had a transformative effect on Sorrento Sky, enabling him to reach a higher level on Saturday. Under a well-judged ride by Rispoli, the Irish-bred broke from the outside post 8, dropped back to save ground, and deftly tipped out again down the lane.

Meanwhile, the 11-1 Virat was trying to go wire-to-wire after rattling off fractions of :22.39 and :44.65. But inside the final sixteenth, he could not maintain his margin. The stalking No Nay Hudson began to inch closer, with Sorrento Sky making even more headway on the outside.

Sorrento Sky swooped to a one-length decision. By finishing five furlongs in :56.12, the dark bay improved his resume to 21-5-4-6, $422,918. 

No Nay Hudson wore down Virat by a half-length for second, posting his best result here in his third attempt. The Wesley Ward veteran had placed third in the 2024 Green Flash and fourth a year ago.

Motorious closed mildly for fourth, followed by Sumter, Incanto, early chaser Mescalero, and Man O Rose, who broke through the gate prematurely and ran a bit before being reined in and reloaded. Monster and Saratoga Special were scratched.

Campaigned by Benowitz Family Trust, CYBT, McLean Racing Stables, Saul Gevertz, Marc Lantzman, and Michael Nentwig, Sorrento Sky was bred in the Emerald Isle by Miss Colleen Dwyer. A son of the Kodiac stallion Prince of Lir, the five-year-old is out of Briarfield Lady, a daughter of Battle of Marengo. This family includes such smart sprinters as Pearl Secret, Rosy Affair, Palacegate Episode, and Dutch Art. 

Del Mar Mile (G2)

King of Gosford ($12.40) shares mostly overlapping ownership with Sorrento Sky – Benowitz Family Trust, CYBT, Saul Gevertz, and Michael Nentwig – plus Jeremy Peskoff.

Unlike his stablemate, King of Gosford had already achieved stakes glory, most notably in the 2025 Shoemaker Mile (G1). The British-bred unfortunately suffered a cut hind leg in his ensuing start, last year’s Del Mar Mile, and wound up last. 

Sidelined until this spring, King of Gosford has been progressing steadily on the comeback trail. He regained the winning thread in the July 19 Wickerr S., his third start off the layoff, and took another step forward here.

King of Gosford was well placed just a few lengths off Cabo Spirit through splits of :23.09, :47.08, and 1:10.79. As Cabo Spirit characteristically drifted wide into the stretch, a gaping hole opened on the inside for challengers to exploit.

His nearest pursuer, 2.80-1 favorite El Potente, seized the opportunity, and King of Gosford advanced in tandem. El Potente appeared to have the upper hand as they bore down on Cabo Spirit, but King of Gosford found extra. 

Detain kicked into top gear from further back to make it a four-way tussle, and his late lunge nearly propelled him across the line. Yet King of Gosford kept his head in front of Detain in a final time of 1:34.22.

El Potente was a neck away in third, with Cabo Spirit relegated to fourth by the same margin. Astronomer, Artislas, Freedom’s Not Free, Twirling Point, slow-starting Almendares, new Brazilian import Sensel, and Seal Team concluded the order of finish. Flyover was withdrawn. 

King of Gosford just joined millionaires’ row with a mark of 22-9-3-3, $1,002,192. The Zoustar gelding was among the leading turf sophomores on this circuit in 2024, winning the Mathis Brothers Mile (G2), Desert Code S., John Shear S., and Let It Ride S. and placing in the Hollywood Derby (G1), La Jolla H., and Eddie D. His other minor awards include a second in the 2025 American (G3) and a third in his title defense in the May 25 Shoemaker. 

Out of the stakes-winning Harbour Watch mare Miss Sugars, King of Gosford descends from the same female line as Grade 1 scorers Wigmore Hall and Ocean Road.