Solid Wager © Benoit Photo
Rallying from last place under jockey Victor Espinoza, Solid Wager, the defending race champion, forged ahead in the final strides to win the featured $100,000 Cary Grant Stakes Sunday at Del Mar.
Providing Espinoza and trainer Peter Miller with their third victories of the afternoon, Solid Wager, the 5-2 second choice in a field of eight older Thoroughbreds, scored by a half-length over Grazen Sky, with Acceptance third and Gold Rush Dancer fourth. Magic Mark, the 2-1 favorite, was fifth.
Solid Wager, owned by Barber, Barber and Stanford Stable, negotiated the seven-furlong sprint in 1:22.51 to earn first money of $57,000. It was the five-year-old Birdonthewire gelding’s seventh win in 30 starts and first triumph since he won the Grant Stakes last fall. His career earnings are $429,921.
Solid Wager returned $7.60, $4.20 and $3.20; Grazen Sky, who went postward at 6-1, paid $6.40 and $4 while Acceptance returned $5.20 to show.
Solid Wager climaxed a consecutive riding triple for Espinoza, who also won the sixth race aboard Moe Candy at $10.60 and the seventh aboard longshot Start a Running at $25.40.
Miller’s earlier winners were Run Like the Boss at $8 in the fourth and T. Montana at $9.60 in the fifth.
There were no perfect tickets in Sunday’s Pick Six, so Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day program which begins at 11 a.m. will have a carryover of $82,426. Additionally, the single ticket Jackpot Pick Six will be worth $58,120.
VICTOR ESPINOZA (Solid Wager, winner) – “He’s the kind of horse that wants to do things his way. He doesn’t want to be rushed or pushed. I know him and I know what to do. I could tell they were going fast up front and that was fine. Then when the time came, he went right to it. He ran really well.”
(The Cary Grant was Espinoza’s third straight winner: “It’s nice when you get good horses. It makes things so much easier.”)
TYLER BAZE (Grazen Sky, second) –“He ran good; real good. Better to come with this horse, too. He’s a good one.”
STEWART ELLIOTT (Acceptance, third) – “He stumbled coming away from there, but he picked himself up and got right in the race. He ran good today. We’re happy with him.”
PETER MILLER (Solid Wager, winner) – “At first I was cussing Victor (Espinoza) wondering why he was so far back. Then he winds up with this amazing move, and what can you say about Victor, there’s a reason he’s the best. It means a lot to win for the owners of this horse, who are really good friends of mine and great clients. I wish there were more seven-eighths Cal-bred races for this horse. They obviously went fast enough to set up his late kick, he’s got a great three-eighths of a mile run in him and Victor rides him fantastically. I’ve had this horse since he was a 2-year-old, so it’s a lot of fun and great to win this race back-to-back.”
FRACTIONS: :22.24 :45.07 1:09.97 1:22.51
The stakes win was the first of the Fall meet and the first in the Cary Grant for rider Espinoza. He now has 90 stakes wins at Del Mar, eighth best of all time.
The stakes win was the first of the Fall meet for trainer Miller, but his second in the Cary Grant. (He won the 2015 running with the same horse.) The trainer now has 16 stakes wins at Del Mar. (This also was his third victory on the day.)