By Hank Wesch

DANCE WITH FATE SUFFERS FATAL INJURIES

Blue Grass Stakes winner Dance With Fate suffered catastrophic injuries to his right rear leg when he crashed into the outer rail during a morning gallop Thursday.

Trained by Peter Eurton and owned by Sharon Alesia, Bran Jam Stable and Joe Ciaglia, Dance With Fate, a  3-year-old son of Two Step Salsa, was being put through routine exercise just before daybreak, around 5:30 a.m.,  for Saturday’s Grade II, $200,000 San Diego Handicap when he bolted and crashed into the outer rail.

Dance With Fate was taken to Barn X, Eurton’s stable, and given immediate attention. Exercise rider Joe Durant suffered undetermined injuries and was taken by ambulance to Scripps La Jolla Hospital for examination and treatment.

At approximately 11:30 a.m., Eurton posted on his Twitter account:

“Words can’t express what we’re feeling right now. With an extremely heavy heart we report Dance With Fate was unable to survive his injuries. Thank you for all of the support during a rough time like this. The joy he gave us will never be forgotten.”    

Soon after the incident, Eurton said: “I don’t know exactly how it happened or why. (Dance With Fate) was galloping, and he ran into the outside fence. He tore some ligaments pretty severely in the right (rear leg).”

Eurton continued with his morning duties long after the accident. He immediately notified the owners before word could get to them via Twitter or other sources. He oversaw the training of the 24 other horses in his stable at Del Mar.  He paused, however, from time to time, to wipe away the tears when they welled up in his eyes.

Dance With Fate had been in training at Santa Anita and Del Mar since an abortive attempt at running in the $1.25-million Belmont Derby July 5 at Belmont Park in New York. The colt suffered a bout of colic on the eve of that race and was scratched from the mile and one-quarter. Subsequently, he registered a bullet five-furlong drill at Del Mar July 19 in :58 2/5.

The striking, dark bay or brown colt had scored his initial win at Del Mar last summer, then finished a fast-closing second in the Grade I Del Mar Futurity. He was subsequently stakes placed on two other occasions prior to capturing the Blue Grass at Keeneland April 12. He followed up that effort with a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby won by California Chrome, which was his most recent outing.

In nine starts, Dance With Fate shows three wins, three seconds and earnings of $680,050.

TEAM O’NEILL GEARS UP FOR THREE-STAKES WEEKEND

A victory by Richard’s Kid in the 2013 Cougar II Handicap was the first of four stakes victories for trainer Doug O’Neill last summer. And the four-time Del Mar  training champion would like to see a repeat circumstance when he sends out Bailoutbobby in the $100,000, Grade III, 1 ½-mile marathon on Polytrack that is Friday’s featured event.

It could be the start of a big weekend for O’Neill, who took the 2006 Pacific Classic with Lava Man as one of the highlights of  22 career stakes victories. In addition to Bailoutbobby in the Cougar II, O’Neill will saddle Handsome Mike in the $200,000, Grade II, San Diego Handicap on Saturday and Goldencents in the Grade I, $300,000 Bing Crosby Handicap on Sunday.
 

“We’ve got some good ones going, and the highlight will be Goldencents on Sunday; we’re really excited about him,” O’Neill said.

Bailoutbobby, a 4-year-old Mizzen Mast gelding, was shipped east after two claiming level starts here last year. He won three of seven starts, mainly on the Kentucky circuit, from September to May. Returned to California, Bailoutbobby was fourth to Big Kick in the 1 ¾ mile San Juan Capistrano on turf at Santa Anita on June 29.

“He’s doing great,” O’Neill said. “I know he’ll get the distance, it’s just a matter of if he’s good enough.”

Handsome Mike has gone a long time between wins but was a close second to Sky Kingdom last out in the American Flag on July 4 at Santa Anita.

“He’s doing well and we know he loves the track. We’ll have to see how it plays out,” O’Neill said.

Goldencents won the Santa Anita Derby, was second to Points Offthebench in the Crosby and capped a 2013 campaign with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

“He breezed this morning with Rafael Bejarano up (3 furlongs in :34.20) and he’s doing great,” O’Neill said. “It’s hard to say that a horse that has won a Breeders’ Cup race is better than he was then. But he’s as good.”

 D’AMATO HAS LIL BIT O’FUN WITH FIRST DM STAKES WIN

Phil D’Amato, who took over for Mike Mitchell when Del Mar’s leader for training wins retired in April, scored his first Del Mar stakes victory in Wednesday’s Wickerr Stakes with Lil Bit O’Fun. Mitchell had claimed the 6-year-old gelding last August at Del Mar and given him time off from October until he won an optional claimer at Santa Anita for D’Amato last month.

“He came to us in good shape when we claimed him,” D’Amato said. “Mike took the blinkers off and he won a race down the hill at Santa Anita. He came up with some niggling problems out of that race, we gave him some time off and I think that has done him a world of good. He came back a new horse.

“He’s an old class horse. He just missed winning the La Jolla (in 2011). He had a right to be a good horse at some point and he was training so well off his last win that I told Mike, I had to take a shot with him. It paid off.”

Thursday morning, D’Amato scratched Big John B, from the Grade III, $100,000 Cougar II Handicap, in favor of an allowance race later in the meeting.

MACHOWSKY, MIRAHMADI GUEST IN WEEKEND SEMINARS

Mike Machowsky, trainer of 2011 Del Mar Mile winner Caracortado among other exceptional runners, will be the `guest for Saturday’s free handicapping seminar. On Sunday, Frank Mirahmadi – race caller and master impersonator of racing voices such as Del Mar announcer Trevor Denman – will be the guest of Jon Lindo.

The seminars are  held from 12:45-1:30 p.m. at the Seaside Terrace near the top of the stretch.

TRAKUS FACT OF THE DAY FOR WEDNESDAY

Stylish in Black rallied from off the pace with an impressive win in her second lifetime start to take Wednesday’s second race. Covering extra ground, she ran 28 feet more than second-placer Three Blondes, a distance that equates to roughly 3 ¼ lengths. With Elvis Trujillo aboard, Stylish in Black ran the final quarter in 23.00 seconds, 1.09 seconds than the next-fastest in the race (4^th placer Cee’s Tizzy Belle) and 1.44 seconds faster than Three Blondes.

CLOSERS – Selected workouts from 97 timed Thursday morning: Goldencents (3f, :34.20), Jojo Warrior (5f, :59.20) … Ship and Win bonus-eligible horses on Thursday’s card: George’s Peach (2^nd, Mike Stidham), Fable (5^th, Ted West), Brazilian Court (6^th, R.B. Hess, Jr.), Juan’s Corazonsito (6^th, Henry Dominguez), Mike Man’s Gold (7^th, Vann Belvoir), Roman Threat (7^th, Bob Baffert), Mr. Lexis (8^th, Peter Miller), Song to You (8^th, Mike Stidham).

DEL MAR STATISTICS

 Jockey Standings

(Current Through Wednesday, July 23, 2014 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Wednesday, July 23, 2014 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Wednesday, July 23, 2014 Inclusive)

 Winning favorites -- 12 out of 49 -- 24.49%

Winning favorites on Polytrack -- 8 out of 32 -- 25.00%

 Winning favorites on turf -- 4 out of 17 -- 23.53%

 Winning odds-on favorites -- 1 out of 3 -- 33.33%

 In-the-Money favorites -- 29 out of 49 -- 59.18%

 In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 2 out of 3 -- 66.67%

Thursday, July 24, 2014 Contact: Dan Smith 858-792-4226/Hank Wesch 858-755-1141 ext. 3793