Del Mar Stable Notes July 21, 2017

By Dan Smith —-

FACING ARROGATE: TOUGH JOB, BUT SOMEBODY’S GOT TO DO IT

The field for Saturday’s Grade II $300,000 TVG San Diego Handicap was reduced to five Friday morning when trainer J. Keith Desormeaux opted for Sunday’s $75,000 Wickerr Stakes with Dalmore instead of taking on world No. 1 Arrogate.

That leaves Bob Baffert-trained Arrogate stablemate Cat Burglar, Accelerate, El Huerfano and Donworth to line up alongside Arrogate when the $17 million earner makes his first start since winning the Dubai World Cup in March.

The 76th running of the San Diego, a stepping stone to the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic on Saturday, August 19, will go as the ninth on a 10-race card which also includes the Grade II $250,000 Eddie Read Stakes five races earlier on the program.

Arrogate, ridden by Mike Smith, will carry 126 pounds, eight more than Cat Burglar. Arrogate will spot Accelerate nine pounds, 10 to Donworth and 11 to El Huerfano.

Typical of a handicap race where weights are assigned by the racing secretary, not all trainers were happy with their assignments. John Sadler, of Accelerate, and Peter Miller, of El Huerfano, not surprisingly, thought that Arrogate should have been given a higher impost.

Accelerate has three wins and been in the money 10 times in 11 starts, building earnings of $427,480 for the Hronis Racing LLC ownership. In his last start, Accelerate was third to Collected, beaten 1 ¾-lengths by runner-up Cat Burglar.

Miller articulated the aims of those with horses not named Arrogate in the San Diego.

“If we run second, it’s a win,” Miller said. El Huerfano has five wins in 27 career starts and is coming off an optional claiming score on June 17 at Santa Anita. He has career earnings of $303,041.
Doug O’Neill, trainer of Donworth, appears to be going into the race with his usual optimistic outlook.

“He’s a son of Tiznow, so he’s got the pedigree,” O’Neill said. “He was a little short going into his last race, and I think Mario (Gutierrez) did a great job of taking care of him. I think he got a lot of good out of that race and he’s had a lot of good open gallops since.” Donworth was fourth in the Precisionist Stakes at Santa Anita on June 17, beaten 17 lengths by Collected but only a neck behind third-place Accelerate.

“One great thing about this sport is that they’re not machines,” O’Neill said. “As much as Arrogate looks unbeatable, they all are beatable. If he’s not feeling it on Saturday and we are, we’ll shock the world.”

The field from the rail: Accelerate (Victor Espinoza, 8-1), El Huerfano (Evin Roman, 12-1), Arrogate (Mike Smith, 1-5), Donworth (Mario Gutierrez, 10-1), Cat Burglar (Rafael Bejarano, 10-1).
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DALMORE DECLARED FROM SAN DIEGO, HEADED FOR WICKERR

Trainer J. Keith Desormeaux, who entered Dalmore in both the San Diego Handicap on Saturday and Wickerr Stakes on Sunday decided upon the lesser of two challenges for the 4-year-old gelded son of Colonel John.

“It’s not like we’re going from the frying pan into the fire, because Arrogate’s not in (the Wickerr), but it’s a very tough race,” Desormeaux said Friday morning. “I’m not out here to just fill races and get my horses beat. If Dalmore would have had more wins in the last year, I might have taken a chance with him. But I want to win with him and my job is to find the easiest company.”

The Wickerr field from the rail: Street Street Lad (Drayden Van Dyke, 15-1), Perfectly Majestic (Kent Desormeaux, 3-1), Prime Attraction (Victor Espinoza, 10-1), Dalmore (Corey Nakatani, 10-1), Calculator (Rafael Bejarano, 7-2), Blackjackcat (Gary Stevens, 5-1) and Vyjack (Flavien Prat, 8-5).
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READ WIN WOULD BE SWEET FOR ASHLEYLUVSSUGAR

A year ago, Ashleyluvssugar was a creditable second, beaten only a half-length by Midnight Storm in the Eddie Read Handicap. The five-year-old, California-bred son of Game Plan is back for another try in the Grade II, $250,000, 1 1/8-mile turf event and is the 7-5 morning line favorite in a field of seven.

“It (Read) is a little short for him, but he did all right in it last year,” trainer Peter Eurton said. “He looks the same to me as he did last year and he’s always a hard trier. We’ll just have to see if he gets the trip.

“The draw (No. 6 of seven) is a little outside, last year we were inside, but it’s a long chute. Hopefully he’ll be able save a little ground, not get caught too wide and not let anybody steal the race. If you get caught three or four wide around the first turn, you can be stuck out there the whole race.”

The Read effort was the third runner-up showing in as many turf starts at Del Mar for Ashleyluvssugar. He notched his first victory on the Jimmy Durante course a month later, prevailing by a nose as the favorite in the 1 3/8 mile Del Mar Handicap.

Ashleyluvssugar has competed in five Grade II races since last year’s Read, notching three wins, a second and a third.

The field from the rail: Mr. Roary (Santiago Gonzalez, 10-1), Hunt (Flavien Prat, 3-1), Kenjisstorms (Rafael Bejarano, 5-2), Wanstead Gardens (Tyler Baze, 8-1), Up With The Birds (Jamie Theriot, 15-1), Ashleyluvssugar (Gary Stevens, 7-5) and Abbey Vale (Kyle Frey, 12-1).
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KEEN EYES MORE SUCCESS WITH A PAIR OF ONE-EYED RUNNERS

Trainer Dallas Keen had experiences at Lone Star Park in Texas recently that make for top-rate story telling around the backstretch here, or anywhere else the widely-travelled veteran may be stationed.
Within a nine-day period, Keen saddled two one-eyed horses to win races. One from the No. 1 post.
“I don’t know of anybody else who’s done that,” Keen said Thursday from horseback at his Del Mar stable area.

Aglimpseofgabby, a 5-year-old gelded son of Tapit started it with a 5 ¼-length, wire-to-wire go in a June 23 allowance. Then on July 2, Iron Alex, a son of Unbridled’s Heart, won his career debut by 1 ¾ lengths.

Aglimpseofgabby is entered in the sixth race on the Four O’Clock Friday program. Iron Alex will run later in the meeting.

Neither horse was born without a right eye, but the circumstances in which they were lost remain uncertain. Aglimpseofgabby came to the Keen stable that way and Iron Alex got injured playing rough with a contemporary in a pasture and the eye couldn’t be saved.

“They’ve both adapted very well, they don’t act like there’s anything wrong,” said Donna Keen, wife and assistant to Dallas. “You just have to treat them a little differently, spend a little more time with them and never get rough with them on the side where they can’t see. But they do just fine.”

Aglimpseofgabby has two wins in eight career starts, six in Louisiana and two at Gulfstream Park. The horse was considered an “outlaw,” Donna Keen said, for antics that resulted in being shuffled from trainer to trainer and being ruled off at Louisiana Downs. He attempted to buck Dallas Keen off several times after arriving at the stable, but the “project” has become a favorite of late.

Iron Alex showed potential in his debut and his next start here could be something of a litmus test.
It’s been three years since the Keens brought a string to Del Mar for the summer meeting and, Donna said, they’re glad to be back

“We went to Gulfstream Park one summer and we went to Canterbury Downs one summer, but there’s no place like Del Mar,” she said. “With the (Ship and Win program) incentives, I don’t see how you can’t love it. We plan on coming back in the fall.

“It’s fun being around the better horses and better horsemen and they treat you so well here.
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SIRCAT SALLY TOPS FIELD OF NINE IN SUNDAY’S SAN CLEMENTE

Sircat Sally, undefeated in seven career starts, the last three at the graded stakes level, faces eight rivals in Sunday’s featured Grade II $200,000 San Clemente Handicap.

A 3-year-old, California-bred daughter of Surf Cat bred and owned by Joe L. Turner, Sircat Sally is trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer.

Three of the filly’s wins have been recorded at the one-mile distance on turf of the San Clemente since she was switched to the grass for all five of her races in 2017. Sircat Sally won her racing debut last November 20 at six furlongs on the main track here.

The field, from the rail: Noted and Quoted (Martin Garcia, 8-1), Storm the Hill (Kent Desormeaux, 12-1), Lull (Brian Hernandez, Jr., 7-2), Enthrall (Rafael Bejarano, 5-1), Kenda (Tyler Baze, 15-1), Spy Ring (Victor Espinoza, 12-1), Sircat Sally (Drayden Van Dyke, 8-5) and Blame It On Alphie (Flavien Prat, 6-1).
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CBS’ CHARLIE ROSE DUE HERE FOR ARROGATE FEATURE ON 60 MINUTES

Preceded by a camera crew Friday morning, venerable television newsman Charlie Rose was scheduled to arrive in the afternoon to work on a segment on Arrogate for CBS’ 60 Minutes program that will likely air the week before the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar on November 3-4.

Noted for his insightful interviews, Rose’s itinerary called for getting together with trainer Bob Baffert on Friday afternoon and being close at hand for Saturday’s TVG San Diego Handicap.
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ARROGATE POSTER GIVEAWAY SET SATURDAY

Posters commemorating Arrogate’s appearance will be given away Saturday while supplies last. They will be distributed when the gates open at noon from inside the first floor Stretch Run area adjacent to the “Across the Board” concession stand and at the east end on the first floor of the Clubhouse section. Signs will direct patrons to both locations.
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CLOSERS – Jockey Mike Smith has one mount on Saturday’s card – Arrogate. He’ll then make the cross-country trip to New York and the Saratoga Race Course to guide Kentucky Oaks winner Abel Tasman in the Coaching Club American Oaks … Arrogate’s am: backtracked to just short of the one-eighth pole then galloped 1 5/8th miles under exercise rider Dana Barnes … Boxing sensation Canelo Alvarez, training in San Diego for his challenge of Gennady Golovkin for the middleweight championship on September 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, made a stop at the track for some filming for the HBO program 24-7 that is following him leading up to the bout. Alvarez said he did seven miles of road work before coming to Del Mar and had two more workouts to do later in the day … Selected workouts from 177 officially timed Friday morning: Ocho Ocho Ocho (3f, :36.80), Danzing Candy (4f, :49.20), Excavation (5f, :59.00) and Frank Conversation (5f, 1:01.00).