Roadster © Del Mar Thoroughbred Club

DAY 34

ROADSTER TABBED 6-5 FAVORITE FOR CLOSING DAY FUTURITY

Roadster drew the No. 3 post in a field of seven and was established as the 6-5 favorite on the morning line for Monday’s Grade I $300,000 Del Mar Futurity issued Saturday by oddsmaker Russ Hudak.

Instagrand, the talk of the backstretch since his August 11 victory in the Best Pal Stakes but surprisingly not entered in the Futurity, would have been the favorite, Hudak said.

“Now you know why I don’t think in terms of numbers until everything’s set,” Hudak said Saturday. “I would have made Instagrand the favorite and Roadster a close second. There would have been a much smaller gap between those two than there is now between Roadster and the next horse.

“It went from being a competitive race to one where one horse figures to dominate the wagering.”

Rowayton, a stablemate to Instagrand with the same owner/trainer combination of Lawrence Best and Jerry Hollendorfer, is the second choice at 3-1. Hollendorfer said that Instagrand, who is physically OK, will be pointed to the Grade I $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday, September 29.

The American Pharoah is one of five Breeders’ Cup prep races on the Santa Anita program that day.

The Futurity field from the rail: Sparky Ville (Gary Stevens, 20-1), Rowayton (Drayden Van Dyke, 3-1), Roadster (Mike Smith, 6-5), Savagery (Joe Talamo, 15-1), Spin Lightning (Flavien Prat, 6-1), Sigalert (Tyler Baze, 8-1) and Game Winner (Tiago Pereira, 4-1).

O’NEILL AIMS ARAWAK FOR POSSIBLE DERBY UPSET

There was no catching River Boyne in the Grade III $150,000 La Jolla Handicap, second leg of the turf series for 3-year-olds, on August 5. But Doug O’Neill-trained Arawak came closest of those who tried.

Given a month to prepare, and an additional sixteenth of a mile to run, O’Neill is hopeful that Arawak can turn the tables in Sunday’s 74^th running of the Grade II $250,000 Del Mar Derby.

“Obviously, River Boyne is the horse to beat. But we were making a little headway on him down the lane in the La Jolla, so hopefully the extra sixteenth of a mile will be to our advantage,” O’Neill said. “Win, lose or draw I like our post and our chances.”

The field from the rail: Epical (Tyler Baze, 20-1), Desert Stone (Tyler Gaffalione (6-1), River Boyne (Flavien Prat, 5-2), Restrainedvengence (Evin Roman, 20-1), Arawak (Rafael Bejarano, 8-1), Pubilius Syrus (Kent Desormeaux, 8-1), Andesh (Geovanni Franco, 8-1), Ride a Comet (Drayden Van Dyke, 7-2), Take the One O One (Joe Talamo, 8-1), Kazan (Martin Garcia, 12-1), Majestic Eagle (Gary Stevens, 15-1) and Animosity (Tyler Conner, 20-1).

SEASON’S FLEETINGS: JOCKEY RACE; MILLER’S RECORD QUEST

With only three days remaining in the summer season, a capsule look at the race for the jockey title and runaway training leader Peter Miller’s progress toward the most wins in a meet in 55 years (Farrell Jones, 35 in 1963) or maybe 65 years (R.H. “Red” McDaniel, 36 in 1953). McDaniel’s all-time record of 47 in the 41-day meeting of 1954 is out of reach.

The “win” needle didn’t move for jockeys Drayden Van Dyke or Flavien Prat on Friday as Van Dyke went 0-for-2 and Prat 0-for-4. The same could be said for Miller, who missed with four starters.

Van Dyke leads defending champion Prat by two (34-32) in the rider’s race. Miller has 30 wins and the trainer’s title well in hand.

If there’s any blanking done by the trio on Saturday, it won’t be for a lack of trying. Here’s the riding assignments for Van Dyke and Prat, and the entries on the 11-race card for Miller.

Van Dyke – Chatty (1^st, 10-1), The Spiral Jetter (3^rd, 6-1), Brill (4^th, 8-5), Much Better (5^th, 2-1), Wind Tartare (6^th, 5-1), Magic Musketier (8^th, 6-1), Magic On Tap (9^th, 5-2), Cambodia (10^th, 5-2) and Giveherdalute  (11^th, 5-1).

Prat  – Great Return (1^st, 7-2), Duranga (2^nd, 4-1), Causeway Carolyn (3^rd, 7-2), Bellafina (4^th, 9-5), Gum Tree Lane (5^th, 5-2), Tonahutu (6^th, 7-2), Johnny Strong (7^th, 3-1),  Shining Through (9^th, 7-2), Vasilika (10^th, 7-2) and Creative Contessa (11^th, 9-2).

Miller – Red Shelby (1^st, 6-1), Moon Kitty (2^nd, 7-2), Causeway Carolyn (3^rd, 7-2), Boujie Girl (4^th, 8-1), Striking a Pose (5^th, 8-1), Tell Me More (6^th, 12-1), Wind Tartare (6^th, 5-1), Memorable Election (7^th, 6-1), Stop the Violence (8^th, 12-1) and Grand Meister (9^th, 20-1).

Doug O’Neill, a four-time Del Mar training champion and the consensus favorite before the 2018 meeting started, saddled two winners Friday but still trails Miller by nine (30-21).

“We’re happy with the meeting we’re having, but Peter just crushed us,” O’Neill said Saturday. “He just crushed everybody. He’s on fire, so hats off to him. When things are going your way, to use a baseball analogy, you’re batting and the ball looks like a beachball coming up to the plate. I think that’s the way things are for him right now.”

CALLAGHAN OPTS FOR JUVENILE TURF OVER FUTURITY WITH OWNING

Trainer Simon Callaghan considered the 2-year-old colt Owning, a Kentucky-bred son of Flashback he trains for J. Paul Reddam, for both Sunday’s $100,000 Juvenile Turf and Monday’s $300,000 Grade I Del Mar Futurity.

Callaghan opted for a mile on the turf, a surface over which Owning has not run, rather than 7-furlongs on dirt against the most proven juveniles on the grounds.

“We think he’ll handle the turf,” Callaghan said. “We think he’s got a very good (running) action for the turf. Obviously going two turns is a bit of an unknown, but I think it’s well within his capabilities.

“And it (Juvenile Turf) is a race without any standout. So if we can transfer a couple of decent runs from the dirt over to turf, I think he’s going to be very competitive.”

The field from the rail: Hartel (Flavien Prat, 3-1), Takeo Squared (Rafael Bejarano, 6-1), Honcho (Tyler Baze, 6-1), Rijeka (Mario Gutierrez, 7-2), Forloveofcountry (Evin Roman, 5-1), Seeking Refuge (Geovanni Franco, 20-1), Owning (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-1), King of Speed (Gary Stevens, 20-1), Knight’s Cross (Kent Desormeaux, 20-1), Go Daddy Go (Tiago Pereira, 15-1) and Street Image (Joe Talamo, 20-1).

McCARTHY POSES TRIPLE THREAT IN MONDAY’S JUVENILE FILLIES TURF

Trainer Mike McCarthy has three entrants in a field of 11 for Monday’s $100,000 Juvenile Fillies Turf, one of two supporting stakes on the undercard for the traditionally featured closing day  Del Mar Futurity.

McCarthy’s trio is comprised of Kathryn’s Sky, Noble Contessa and Imperial Creed. Kathryn’s Sky is owned by Jay and Cincy Bligh while McCarthy’s two other fillies are owned by the partnership of Gatto or Sebold Racing LLC.

“They weren’t going to get into a maiden race and I wanted to get them a race here before we left, so that was our only option,” McCarthy said Saturday. “It’s a wide open race. There’s one clear standout and everybody else is in the same boat.

“We’ll see what happens.”

The standout is 6-5 morning line favorite Summering, who comes in off a five-length debut victory over the one-mile turf course. McCarthy saddled Kathryn’s Sky to a third-place finish in that race and the Kentucky-bred daughter of Trappe Shot retains the services of jockey Tyler Baze.

The field for the Juvenile Fillies Turf from the rail: After the Rose (Tiago Pereira, 30-1), Posh Holly (Geovanni Franco, 12-1), Kathryn’s Sky (Tyler Baze, 8-1), Lady Prancealot (Joe Talamo, 12-1), Hyde Park Corner (Gary Stevens, 8-1), Summering (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-5), Noble Contessa (Assael Espinoza, 15-1), Imperial Creed (Kent Desormeaux, 20-1), Angel Alessandra (Flavien Prat, 5-1), Bizwhacks (Mario Gutierrez, 8-1) and Be A Shero (Evin Roman, 20-1).

The Juvenile Fillies Turf goes as the fourth on a 10-race card. It precedes the other stakes on the program, the $75,000 C.E.R.F. a six-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares.

The field for the CERF from the rail: Phantom Proton (Joe Talamo, 6-1), Impasse (Tyler Baze, 20-1), Dis Smart Cat (Evin Roman, 15-1), Miss Sunset (Mike Smith, 7-5), Show It N Moe It (Rafael Bejarano, 4-1), Lake Time (Drayden Van Dyke, 8-1), Time For Ebby (Geovanni Franco, 20-1) and Classy Tune (Flavien Prat, 3-1).

CLOSERS  -- How close an escape was it for jockey Joe Talamo when Aggressivity stumbled leaving the gate in Thursday’s fourth race, unseating Talamo and, it turned out clipping him in the head with a hoof? “It cracked his helmet,” Talamo’s agent Scott McClellan said Friday. “Joe turned his head real quick and I think the horse had his feet in the air and it was a glancing blow, not crushing like it would have been if he stepped down on the helmet.” Talamo was talked out of continuing to ride on Thursday, but was back full-time on Friday …Selected works from 120 officially timed Saturday morning: La Force (4f, :48.80), Soi Phet (4f, :49.00), Collected (6f, 1:14.20) and Edwards Going Left (6f, 1:12.60).

DEL MAR STATISTICS

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Friday, August 31, 2018 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Friday, August 31, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Friday, August 31, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 97 out of 287 -- 33.80%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 69 out of 178 -- 38.76%

Winning favorites on turf -- 28 out of 109 -- 25.69%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 26 out of 42 -- 61.90%

In-the-Money favorites -- 199 out of 287 -- 69.34%

In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 39 out of 42 -- 92.86%