Under deft handling by jockey Victor Espinoza, Finnegans Wake rallied between horses entering the stretch, then fought off longshot Patrioticandproud in the final sixteenth to score a neck triumph in the featured Grade II $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup before a Thanksgiving Day holiday crowd of 4,692.
Finnegans Wake, owned by Donegal Racing and Rockingham Ranch and trained by Peter Miller, came into the race off a tenth-place finish behind Main Sequence in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita November 1.
Sent postward at 7-2, Finnegans Wake, a five-year-old son of Powerscourt, accomplished the mile and one-half on the grass in 2:27.35, establishing a course record since the race marked the first time the distance had been raced on turf in Del Mar history.
Patrioticandproud, who was piloted by Drayden Van Dyke, was a length in front of the favorite, The Pizza Man, with Power Foot another 2 ¾ lengths back in fourth.
Finnegans Wake, scoring his fourth triumph in 25 starts, added $150,000 to his bankroll, pushing the total to $825,375. He returned $9.80, $5.80 and $3.60. Runner-up Patrioticandproud paid $23 and $6.80, while The Pizza Man returned $3.
Finnegans Wake provided Miller with his second of three wins on the card. Miller, whose horses are based at the nearby San Luis Rey Downs training center, won the second race with Xoxo and capped his day in the eighth race, teaming with Espinoza again to win with Jazzy Josh.
Miller, who tied with Jerry Hollendorfer for the Del Mar title last summer, probably clinched the training championship of Del Mar’s fall season as he increased his win total to 12, three more than Mike Puype with three racing days remaining. The 15-day season will conclude Sunday.
There were no perfect tickets in Thursday’s Pick so Friday’s program will have a carryover of $47,192. Post time for the first race is 12:30 p.m. with the Pick Six on the third through eighth races.
VICTOR ESPINOZA (Finnegans Wake, winner) – “It was a little confusing out there on the backside. They didn’t seem to know where they wanted to go; horses going in, going out. But I was patient with him. He felt good under me and when I got him outside, that was it. Then he really kicked. When he cut it loose, I knew we were good.”
DRAYDEN VAN DYKE (Patrioticandproud, second) -- “He was just a little late swapping his lead coming into the straight the last time, but other than that it all went well. He fired well. The trainer (Mark Casse) told me just to find that pocket with him behind the speed and wait. We did and he fired. I think the connections were happy.”
(Van Dyke picked up the mount when the named rider, Corey Nakatani, could not return in time from an out-of-town riding engagement.)
FLORENT GEROUX (The Pizza Man, third) – “It was a nice set up in front of me. The fractions were good. He fired, but we came up short. I’m discussing it with the owner and trainer: maybe he wants shorter distances; maybe I pulled the trigger too soon. I think today, maybe I pulled the trigger too soon.”
PETER MILLER (Finnegans Wake, winner) – “It was a really fast pace, but I was happy with our position. Victor saved ground and didn’t panic, just gave the horse a great ride. The No. 5 (Patrioticandproud) ran a great race for Gary Barber, one of our clients, and really gave us a scare. Our horse ran super and I’m really happy for the connections.”
FRACTIONS: :23.34 :47.32 1:12.05 1:38.81 2:03.31 2:27.35
This is the first mile and one-half run on grass at Del Mar.
The stakes win was the second of the meeting for Victor Espinoza and his 82nd overall at Del Mar. He’s the eighth leading rider for stakes all time at the track.
The stakes win was the first of the meeting for Peter Miller and his eighth overall at Del Mar.
The owners of the winner are Donegal Racing (headed by Jerry Crawford of Des Moines, IA) and Rockingham Ranch of Gary Hartunian of Sherman Oaks, CA.