Sneaking Out © Benoit Photo 

K M N Racing’s Sneaking Out, a 4-year-old filly with a strong resume, a Hall of Fame trainer and Del Mar’s leading rider set to climb on board, is a solid favorite for Friday’s 49th edition of the Grade III, $100,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap.

The six and a half panel spin for older fillies and mares has drawn a field of eight as it headlines a 10-race program that kicks off TVG Pacific Classic weekend at the seaside oval.

Sneaking Out, by the Indian Charlie sire Indian Evening, has been first or second in nine of her 11 starts. She’s won a pair of stakes, most recently capturing the Grade II Great Lady M Stakes on the Fourth of July at Los Alamitos to push her bankroll to $431,441. She raced out of the barn of trainer Keith Desormeaux as a 2- and 3-year-old, but this year has been switched to the care of trainer Jerry Holendorfer. The Hall of Fame conditioner has contracted Umberto Rispoli to ride Friday, and the way the newcomer to Del Mar has handled himself so far at the 2020 session (28 wins in the first 16 days of racing), that figures to be a good thing. The fact that “Out” is the morning line 8/5 favorite also fits right in with all the rest.

Here’s the full lineup for the Rancho Bernardo from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:

Kelly or Wiltz’s Gingham (Mike Smith, 6-1); Pam and Martin Wygod’s Into Chocolate (Abel Cedillo, 8-1); Andreas Psarras’ Mother of Dragons (Ricardo Gonzalez, 12-1); Hronis Racing’s Artistic Diva (Ruben Fuentes, 8-1); Sneaking Out; Claiborne Farm, Bass or Dilschneider, et al’s Amuse (Drayden Van Dyke, 5-1); Ten Broeck Farm’s Mucho Amor (Juan Hernandez, 15-1), and Pantofel Stable, Wachtel Stable, et al’s Unique Factor (Flavien Prat, 4-1).

Unique Factor ships in from Kentucky for the race. The 4-year-old daughter of The Factor – a very fast horse who was a sprint stakes winner at Del Mar – has four wins and six seconds in 19 starts and can brag of winning purses that now amount to $165,653. Del Mar’s leading trainer, Peter Miller, currently calls the shots for the late-running sprinter.

Amuse, a lightly raced 5-year-old who races out of the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella, is seeking her first stakes win in the Rancho Bernardo. The well-bred mare – she’s by Medaglia d’Oro out of a Distorted Humor producer – finished third behind Sneaking Out in the Great Lady M on July 4.

First post on Friday goes at 2 p.m.