Abel Cedillo © Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
SIX RIVALS ENLISTED TO FACE MAXIMUM SECURITY IN SAN DIEGO
A half dozen well-tested handicap division horses were entered to take on Maximum Security as entries closed and the field was drawn today for next Saturday’s $150,000 Grade II San Diego Handicap.
The presence of mighty Maximum Security, heralded well in advance by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, didn’t deter the connections of six other horses from entering for the 79th running of the 1 1/16-mile main track event that has often served as a stepping stone to the TVG Pacific Classic.
The field from the rail with jockeys and weights in parenthesis: Higher Power (Flavien Prat, 122); Ax Man (J.C. Diaz, Jr., 118); Midcourt (Juan Hernandez, 122); Dark Vader (Umberto Rispoli, 118); Maximum Security (Abel Cedillo, 127); Combatant (Drayden Van Dyke, 121) and Sharp Samurai (TBD, 119).
Maximum Security, a 4-year-old son of New Year’s Day and homebred for owners Gary and Mary West of Rancho Santa Fe, enters the race with eight wins in 10 starts and earnings of $11.8 million dollars. Last year the bay colt was first under the wire before becoming the first disqualification in Kentucky Derby history, but posted three subsequent wins to secure the Eclipse Award as 3-year-old champion.
In his only 2020 start, Maximum Security won the inaugural $20 million Saudi Cup on February 29 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Luis Saez, aboard for the last seven starts, tested positive for the COVID-19 virus Friday at Keeneland, forcing Baffert to select a replacement. Baffert indicated Saturday that he would do so from the Del Mar colony and today gave the call to Abel Cedillo.
Cedillo, 31, a native of Guatemala, transitioned from the Northern to Southern California racing circuit in 2019 and finished third in Del Mar’s summer season before winning the riding title at the fall meeting.
A capsule look at the other San Diego entrants in post position order:
Higher Power - The reigning TVG Pacific Classic champion, owned by Hronis Racing, is in the capable hands of Juan Leyva while regular John Sadler serves a suspension scheduled to end Monday.
A 5-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro, Higher Power has five wins from 17 career starts and earnings of $1,486,648. He was given a four-month break after finishing last of 10 in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup in January at Gulfstream Park and came back to finish second in the Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita on June 6, beaten 3 ¼ lengths by Improbable.
Ax Man – A second Baffert representative, the 5-year-old son of Misremembered is owned by Patti and Hal Earnhardt III and has a career record of six wins in 13 starts and earnings of $288,917. He comes in off an allowance victory at 1 1/16 miles on June 20 at Santa Anita.
Midcourt – A 5-year-old gelded son of Midnight Lute, trained by John Shirreffs for the C R K Stable of Lee and Susan Searing, Midcourt has a career record of five wins from 11 starts and earnings of $420,695. He raced in three graded stakes at Santa Anita this year winning the Grade II San Pasqual in February, finished third, beaten three-quarters of a length by Combatant when favored in the Santa Anita Handicap, and then was eased after being hopelessly left at the start in the Hollywood Gold Cup in June.
Dark Vader - Trained by Peter Eurton for major clients Sharon Alesia, Joe Ciaglia and partners, the 5-year-old son of Tale of Ekati has two wins in 12 career starts and earnings of $243,845. He made his 2020 debut, after an 11-month layoff, with a third place finish, beaten 1 ¾ lengths by McKinzie, in the Grade II, seven-furlong Triple Bend at Santa Anita on June 7.
He worked five furlongs Sunday morning in 1:01.80.
Combatant – A second Hronis/Leyva entrant (see Higher Power) the 5-year-old son of Scat Daddy has a career record of four wins in 25 starts and earnings of $1,033,098. The most recent win was a big one: the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap on March 1.
Sharp Samurai _ Trained and part-owned by Mark Glatt, the 6-year-old son of First Samurai has run 16 of his 19 career starts on turf and recorded all but one of his eight victories on grass while earning $841,270. He’s also nominated for the $200,000 Grade II Eddie Read on turf a week from today.
Native Diver accomplished the still-unmatched feat of winning three straight San Diego Handicaps from 1963-65. Horses carrying the Hronis Racing colors have won the last three with Accelerate in 2017 and Catalina Cruiser in 2018-19.
BALTAS, McCARTHY LEAVE MARKS SATURDAY HERE AND AT KEENELAND
Del Mar-based trainers Richard Baltas and Mike McCarthy figured prominently, and successfully, in stakes races at Keeneland and Del Mar on Saturday.
Both shipped standout 3-year-old fillies to Lexington, Ky., for the $400,000 Ashland, part of a stakes-heavy Blue Grass day at Keeneland. Their representatives were 1-2 in the betting in a field of six for the 1 1/16 mile race that carried qualification points for the Kentucky Oaks in September. McCarthy’s Speech, part owned by the Del Mar based Eclipse Partners of Aron Wellman, outdueled Baltas’ favored Venetian Harbor, winning by three lengths in track record time of 1:41.26.
Meanwhile at Del Mar, McCarthy’s Convex ($14.00), also part-owned by Wellman, won the second race, a $20,000 claimer and Baltas-trained Bob and Jackie ($18.40) prevailed in the featured Wickerr Handicap.
Bob and Jackie, a 4-year-old Twirling Candy colt, made his 2020 debut off a seven-month layoff. It wasn’t the first time the Zayat Stables runner had won here off a layoff. After going unraced since December of 2018, Bob and Jackie won the Let It Ride Stakes at the Bing Crosby meeting in November.
“He’s has had some issues and it’s been a long time (between races), but he’s sound now and it’s good to see him win again,” Baltas said.
JOCKEY NEWS: TRAVELING IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE
In decades past, elite riders based at Del Mar could accept assignments to major stakes across the country with little concern or hesitation.
In the early ‘90s, Chris McCarron enthused about how he could now get on the computer and with a few strokes book a first-class ticket (always), grab his personal favorite pillow, head east to ride one day and be back comfortably (usually) to ride the next day at Del Mar.
But times, obviously, have changed.
Flavien Prat’s obligations to ride Saturday at Keeneland and make mounts at Del Mar today included COVID-19 testing at both ends of the journey. The second was today at Scripps Hospital after an 11 a.m. arrival on a flight from Kentucky.
In other jockey news:
Hall of Famer and four-time Del Mar riding champion Victor Espinoza is being widely praised for having the presence of mind, and consideration for others, to take it upon himself to get tested for the virus. His symptoms were mild, but he realized he had been in contact with Martin Garcia and Luis Saez recently at Los Alamitos and both had tested positive.
Espinoza’s positive cost him mounts here for the opening weekend. But there’s no telling how many problems, or possibly even lives, that were saved.
International veteran but Del Mar rookie Umberto Rispoli followed his three-win opening day with two more on Saturday. Five wins from 13 mounts gives Rispoli a three-win lead over Ruben Fuentes (2-for-15), Abel Cedillo (2-for-19), Heriberto Figueroa (2-for-9) and Drayden Van Dyke (2-for-11) atop the standings.
EASY WAY TO ORDER PHOTOS FROM ANY DEL MAR RACE THIS SUMMER
For anyone wanting to order photos from any race run at Del Mar this summer, there’s an easy way to go. Track photographer Benoit Photo has it all set up for you at this website: www.benoitphoto.com/store
You can view photos there and order them right on the spot. Race photos are uploaded to the site shortly after each race is run.
Del Mar’s meet runs from July 10 to September 7.
CLOSERS – Santa Anita Derby winner and major Kentucky Derby hope Honor A.P. worked seven furlongs in 1:29.20 for trainer John Shirreffs in preparation for the Shared Belief Stakes here on Saturday, August 1. Track clockers had Honor A.P. going from the 5-furlong pole to the wire in 1:03.30 … Other selected works from 217 on dirt and 30 on turf Sunday morning: Devil Made Me Doit (4f, :50.20), Dogtag (4f, :48.40), Gamine (4f, :48.80), Touchdown Brown (4f, :48.40), Eight Rings (5f, :58.80), Fighting Mad (5f, 1:00.20) and Improbable (5f, 1:03.80).