Gold Rush Dancer © Zoe Metz for Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
Gold Rush Dancer, a 14-1 longshot piloted by Flavien Prat, rallied on the far outside entering the stretch to take command and then held off the late rush of Tough It Out to win Wednesday’s featured $150,000 Real Good Deal Stakes for California-bred three-year-olds.
`Well-placed in mid-pack by Prat in the early stages of the seven-furlong spring, Gold Rush Dancer swept to the front with a bold move but then was forced to go all out to survive by a half-length over Tough It Out, a 10-1 outsider under jockey Joe Talamo.
Mrazek, the 8-5 favorite in a field of ten, was third, a length and one-quarter behind the runner-up and the same margin in front of fourth-place Taman Guard.
Gold Rush Dancer, a son of Private Gold owned by John E. Parker and trained by Vann Belvoir, ran the seven furlongs in 1:21.90 in scoring his third straight triumph. Previously, he won the Silky Sullivan at Golden Gate Fields and the Snow Chief at Santa Anita.
Scoring his fifth win in a dozen starts, Gold Rush Dancer returned $30.20, $11 and $6.20. First prize of $85,500 increased the colt’s earnings to $379,923. Runner-up Tough It Out paid $9 and $4.80, while Mrazek returned $2.40 to show.
Attendance Wednesday was 9,166.
FLAVIEN PRAT (Gold Rush Dancer, winner) – “You know, he just might be better on dirt than he is on grass. The seven-eighths (today) felt just about right. He’s fast and you can put him anywhere you want. That makes for good trips. Then again, you’ve got to give credit to the trainer. When you ride the best horse, it make the job much easier.”
JOE TALAMO (Tough It Out, second) – “I had the good trip; no troubles at all. He turned in a good late run.”
MARIO GUTIERREZ (Mrazek, third) – “Good trip. No excuses.”
VANN BELVOIR (Gold Rush Dancer, winner) –“We wanted to freshen him up because he had been running hard. We were pointing for this or the La Jolla. I wasn’t afraid of the (switch to) seven furlongs or the dirt. I wanted to enter this race with the option to scratch, but when we drew the good post and looking at his numbers we decided to go in this. And he got a great ride. Flavien is on a roll right now. He’s a beautiful rider. We’re going to go back to the grass next in the Del Mar Derby. My first stakes win at Del Mar and it’s very exciting.”
FRACTIONS: :22.06 :44.21 1:09.17 1:21.90
The stakes win was the first of the meet for rider Prat and his first in the Real Good Deal. He now has five stakes wins at Del Mar.
The stakes win was the first ever at Del Mar for trainer Belvoir.