Hronis Racing’s Hard Aces, winless in nine starts since capturing the 2015 Gold Cup at Santa Anita, outfought a tenacious Quick Casablanca to win the Grade III $100,000 Cougar II Handicap Sunday under jockey Santiago Gonzalez.

 

Prominent from the start of the marathon mile and one-half contest over Del Mar’s main dirt track, Hard Aces responded gallantly when challenged by Quick Casablanca, ridden by Tyler Baze, in a stretch-long duel to win at the wire by a half-length in 2:30.55.

 

Seve’s Road was a distant third, two and one-quarter lengths behind the runner-up and nine and one-half lengths ahead of Energia Fribby, fourth and last in the abbreviated line-up of older Thoroughbreds. Withdrawn from the original field were Hoppertunity and Infobedad.

 

Hard Aces, a son of Hard Spun trained by John Sadler, went postward the prohibitive 2-5 favorite and returned $2.80 and $2.10. Quick Casablanca paid $2.80 to place. There was no show wagering because of the small field.

 

Hard Aces was scoring his seventh victory in 33 races and first money of $60,000 pushed his earnings to the brink of the $1 million milestone, at $999,645.

 

The Cougar II Handicap is a steppingstone to the Grade I $1 million TVG Pacific Classic on August 20.

 

In the $150,690 California Dreamin’ Stakes, co-feature on Sunday’s card, longshot Patriots Rule rallied from last place under jockey Joe Talamo to overhaul Ambitious Brew in the final sixteenth and win by a half-length. Boozer was third, a length back of the runner-up and a neck in front of fourth-place Alert Bay in the field of eight California-bred horses. Magic Mark was withdrawn.

 

Patriots Rule, making his first start in almost a year for owner Charles Garvey and trainer Robertino Diodoro, went to the gate at 16-l and returned $35.80, $12.40 and $6.60. He was seventh in the 2015 renewal of the California Dreamin’. It was the sixth win in 21 starts for the son of Tribal Rule and first money of $85,500 swelled his lifetime bankroll to $421,730.

 

Runner-up Ambitious Brew, who took the lead entering the stretch only to get nailed at the wire, paid $6.60 and $4.60, while Boozer returned $4 to show. Time for the mile and one-sixteenth on  grass was 1:41.78.

 

There was a single perfect ticket in the Pick Six and it paid $888,207. With a carryover of $167,265 from Saturday, “new” money was $1,110,327 for a total Pick Six pool of $1,278,265.

 

Attendance Sunday was 11,697.