Beach View © Benoit Photo
Given a ground-saving ride by jockey Rafael Bejarano, Beach View swept to the front along the rail turning into the stretch and easily defeated odds-on favored Hoppertunity in the featured $100,000 Cougar II Handicap Wednesday.
Beach View, owned by Levy Racing and trained by Leonard Powell, won the mile and one-half marathon over Del Mar’s main dirt track by four and three-quarter lengths over Hoppertunity, who went to the post at 3-5 under jockey Flavien Prat while conceding nine pounds to the winner, 125-116.
Third in the field of seven older horses was Full of Luck, two and one-quarter lengths behind the second horse and a length ahead of fourth-place Twentytwentyvision. Deal With It Dude was scratched.
Beach View, a son of Giant’s Causeway, accomplished the distance in 2:34.02 and returned $20, $5.80 and $3.80 while earning $60,000 with his third win in ten outings.It was the five-year-old horse’s initial success in a stakes event. Hoppertunity, a winner of almost $4.7 million and several significant stakes in his career, paid $2.60 and $2.10, while Full of Luck returned $4.20 to show.
Stormy Liberal, winner of the Breeders’ Turf Sprint last November at Del Mar, won Wednesday’s fourth race, outfinishing Tribalist by a nose under jockey Drayden Van Dyke. Stormy Liberal stepped the five furlongs on grass in :55.72 and paid $4 as the favorite.
There were no perfect tickets in Wednesday’s Pick Six. Thus, Thursday’s program will have a carryover of $44,416 in the Pick Six. Post time is 2 p.m.
RAFAEL BEJARANO (Beach View, winner) – “My horse has speed, but we came away from there nice and easy and he was relaxed, so I took a little hold. My position was good throughout. Then coming for home I got through inside and he went. He likes the distance. It’s good for him.”
FLAVIEN PRAT (Hoppertunity, second) – “The pace was fine. He was just a little flat today.”
KENT DESORMEAUX (Full of Luck, third) – “He tried hard. He stuck his neck out and tried. He was tenacious. It’s a pleasure to ride horses like him.”
LEONARD POWELL (Beach View, winner) – “He was 0-for-2 on the dirt, but one of them was the first race of his career and the other was the Tokyo City Cup, where he ran the best number of his life. I thought we would be a bit closer to the pace, but Rafael (Bejarano) made the right call. We’ll see how he comes back. Maybe the mile and three eighths (Del Mar Handicap, August 18), which is a Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In, or we may look out of town. We have options with him.”
FRACTIONS: :25.56 :49.94 1:14.31 1:40.55 2:07.13 2:34.02
The stakes win was the first of the meet, but third (Richard’s Kid, 2012; Big John B 2015) in the Cougar II for rider Bejarano. He now has 57 stakes wins at Del Mar.
The stakes win was the first of the meet and first in the Cougar II for trainer Powell. He now has two (Brubaker Stakes, 2016) stakes wins at Del Mar.
Levy Racing is the nom du course of Paul and Mark Levy of Chicago, IL.