Easter © Benoit Photo
Trainer Phil D’Amato hit the trifecta at Del Mar Saturday in the Seabiscuit Handicap. His runners finished first, second and third in the mile and one-sixteenth grass headliner, with Madaket Stable’s Easter leading the parade and proving best by half a length.
The 5-year-old French-bred by the Australian stallion Exosphere had to wait and wait in the lane for room to run, but once he got clear and jockey Antonio Fresu hit the gas, Easter surged to the front in the last 100 yards and earned the first-place prize of $120,000 in the $201,500 Grade II stakes.
Finishing second was the race favorite, Anastasi, Ukegawa and Valazza’s Hong Kong Harry, who had a half length on Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables, et al’s Balnikhov.
Hong Kong Harry, who went off a 11/10, had won last year’s running of the Seabiscuit.
Easter was winning his first graded stakes and increased his bankroll to $447,910 for registering his sixth score in his 18th start. He ran the distance in a rapid 1:39.96, just :46 hundreds off the track record. As the second choice in the field of eight, he returned $5.40 to his backers. He had come into the D’Amato barn less than a month ago after running a series of races mostly in the east out of the barn of conditioner Graham Motion.
The Thanksgiving weekend wraps up tomorrow at Del Mar with a nine-race card topped by the 46th edition of the Native Diver Stakes. First post on the afternoon is the usual 12:30 p.m.
ANTONIO FRESU (Easter (FR), winner) – “Obviously, I got Hong Kong Harry in the race right next to me and so I sat behind him. It wasn’t easy in their first part. My horse was pretty keen in the first part of the race, and so I was trying to relax him as much as I could along the way. I just tried to get him in a nice rhythm. When we came for home, I could see Hong Kong Harry was loaded in front of me so I was followed true and the last 200 yards there was an opening and I took it. My horse just exploded. He seems like a very nice horse, and hopefully he has a very bright future. Phil D’Amato… did a good job, and Phil kept him in very good shape. The race showed he was class. It was a pleasure to ride him.”
PHIL D’AMATO (Easter (FR), winner) – “I saw Easter was kind of stuck behind there and thought maybe he was going to get second. Antonio (Fresu) said he was able to find daylight and then he exploded. He said within a couple of strides he made up all the ground like nothing. It’s nice to see all three of my horses run well and the best horse won today. Maybe it’s ‘Harry’ next time and maybe it’s Balnikhov after that.”
FRACTIONS: :23.10 :46.61 1:10.64 1:34.21 1:39.96
The stakes win was the second of the meet for rider Fresu. He now has two stakes wins at Del Mar.
The stakes win was the second of the meet for trainer D’Amato and his fifth in the Seabiscuit. He now has 52 stakes wins at Del Mar.
The winning owner is Madaket Stables, the nom due course of Sol Kumin of New York City.