Del Mar | Horse Racing Free Tips

Gun Runner’s Pappacap An Easy Winner of the Best Pal

Dispatched as the 23-10 second choice in Saturday's GII Best Pal S. at Del Mar, Pappacap (Gun Runner) became the first stakes winner for his freshman sire (by Candy Ride {Arg}) with a convincing victory.

Away smoothly from the three hole, the homebred was content to sit in third position beneath Joe Bravo, stalking the dueling duo of Bet On Mookie (Uncaptured) and Thirsty Always (Stay Thirsty) through an opening quarter in :22.11. Ridden quietly past the five-sixteenths pole, Pappacap was asked to come after the pacesetters three wide on the swing for home, breezed by with a minimum of fuzz and drew clear to remain unbeaten in two starts, having wired a field of Gulfstream babies by 2 3/4 lengths at first asking May 14. Finneus (Stay Thirsty) finished nicely to complete the exacta ahead of Bet On Mookie in third. Gun Runner joins Practical Joke, Mohaymen and Caravaggio as first-crop sires to be represented by a winner at the graded/group level.

“I was glad to see how well he settled in behind those two up front,” the winning jockey commented. “His race in Florida, he just was pure speed. You don't know if that's the way they like to go. But he showed another dimension today. Mark Casse sends them out ready.”

Pedigree Notes:

Karen and George Rustle acquired Pappacap's dam privately after she was bought back on a bid of $110,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale. One of three winners from as many to race out of Pappascat, Pappacap has a yearling half-brother by Bolt d'Oro and a colt foal by Spendthrift's Omaha Beach. Sticking to the Danzig line, the Rustles most recently bred Pappascat to War of Will. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Saturday, Del Mar
BEST PAL S.-GII, $200,500, Del Mar, 8-7, 2yo, 6f, 1:11.66, ft.
1–PAPPACAP, 120, c, 2, by Gun Runner
1st Dam: Pappascat (GSP, $165,762), by Scat Daddy
2nd Dam: Redmeansgo, by Red Ransom
3rd Dam: Majestic Dy, by Dynaformer
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Rustlewood Farm Inc (FL); T-Mark E Casse; J-Joe Bravo. $120,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $158,000. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A.
2–Finneus, 120, c, 2, Stay Thirsty–My Fiona, by Ghostzapper. ($200,000 Ylg '20 FTCAYR). O-Naseer Mohammed Fasihuddin, Terry C Lovingier & Amanda Navarro; B-Terry C Lovingier (CA); T-Walther Solis. $40,000.
3–Bet On Mookie, 120, c, 2, Uncaptured–Brown Glaze, by War Front. ($125,000 2yo '21 OBSMAR). O-Gary Barber; B-Ocala Stud (FL); T-Peter Miller. $24,000.
Margins: 4 3/4, 1HF, NK. Odds: 2.30, 4.00, 4.00.
Also Ran: Thirsty Always, Aquitania Arrival, Our Empire. Scratched: Olympic Legend.

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Beat Ray At Del Mar: Royalty In The Yellow Ribbon?

TVG's Mike Joyce and I have something in common: as lifelong Chicago Cubs fans, we are used to cheering for losers. That practice comes in handy in horse racing, where favorites only win about one-third of the time. Horses I've selected in the Beat Ray Beach Boss contest are doing much worse; in fact, they appear to be boycotting the Del Mar winner's circle.

Joyce is this week's guest handicapper in the Beat Ray Beach Boss competition, joining host and racing analyst Michelle Yu to look at Saturday's Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap at the seaside track near San Diego, Calif. It's a very competitive race from top to bottom.

Yu has been red-hot in her analysis, schooling me and Nick Luck in selecting Dr. Schivel last week in the G1 Bing Crosby. It may be good news for me (or bad news for her) that we both agree that Michael Stidham-trained Princess Grace is poised for a minor upset in the Yellow Ribbon after winning her seasonal debut recently at Parx Racing in Pennsylvania.

With Joyce also putting his mythical $100 to win on Princess Grace, we're all going to be victorious or go down on the same sinking ship.

It's not too late to sign up for the Beach Boss competition, where the player with the largest mythical bankroll at the end of the current Del Mar meeting will win two VIP tickets for this year's Breeders' Cup world championships at Del Mar.

For more information or to sign up, click here. Watch our analysis of the Yellow Ribbon below.

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Hudson Ridge Looks To Stay Hot in La Jolla

Hudson Ridge (American Pharoah) carries a baby two-race winning streak into Sunday's GIII La Jolla H. at Del Mar, the second of two-lead up races for the GII Del Mar Derby Sept. 4.

The bay colt has yet to run a poor race going two turns on the grass and nearly got the job done going a mile at Santa Anita May 1, missing by a neck while dead-heating for the plce spot with next-out maiden scorer No Foolery Here (Carpe Diem). Encouraged by Abel Cedillo, trainer Bob Baffert entered Hudson Ridge in the May 23 Cinema S. going nine panels, and the colt responded with a 1 1/4-length defeat of the re-opposing Sword Zorro (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). The 9-5 chalk for a first-level allowance in Arcadia June 18, Hudson Ridge bested Flashiest (Mizzen Mast) by 1 1/4 lengths, the form of which was franked when the latter returned to upset the opening-day Oceanside S. July 16. No Foolery Here was beaten a neck into third.

Stilleto Boy (Shackleford) tries the turf for the first time Sunday afternoon. Having finished second to GII West Virginia Derby favorite Mr. Wireless (Dialed In) in an Oaklawn maiden back in March, the chestnut graduated the following month and most recently carried Jose Ortiz to a 4 1/2-length upset of the Iowa Derby July 2. The gelding was purchased by Steve Moger for $420,000 at last month's Fasig-Tipton Horses of All Ages Sale and is out of a mare that posted a record of 3-1-4 from 11 starts on the turf.

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‘Epitome Of Class’: Elm Drive Holds Off Eda To Win Del Mar’s Sorrento Stakes

Little Red Feather Racing's Elm Drive dug in the length of the stretch and gamely held off Baoma Corp's Eda by a head in a dandy horse race that decided the winner of the 53rd edition of the Sorrento Stakes Friday at Del Mar.

The Grade 2 headliner at the seaside oval north of San Diego, Calif., went with a purse of $201,500 and Elm Drive came away with the winner's share of $120,000. She was ridden by Juan Hernandez and was saddled by Phil D'Amato.

Finishing third was King, Kirby or Kirby's Smash Ticket, the unlucky race favorite at 13-10 who broke badly, then ran into traffic trouble on the backside.

Elm Drive, a bay daughter of Mohaymen, is now two-for-two in her brief career after having easily captured her initial start in a straight maiden race at Los Alamitos on June 28. Her earnings rose to $147,000.

The winning time was 1:10.64 for the six furlongs.

Elm Drive paid $6.60, $3.80 and $2.20 across the board. Eda returned $3.20 and $2.20, while Smash Tickets paid $2.10.

The Sorrento is considered the key prep for the track's biggest race for juvenile fillies, the Grade 1, $300,000 TVG Del Mar Debutante, which will be contested at seven furlongs on Sunday, Sept. 5. Trainer D'Amato indicated that that race is the next target for Elm Drive.

The track's ever-growing Pick 6 Jackpot wager once more expanded when for the 10th straight day as no player was able to take down the entire pool as the single winner. The carryover into Saturday's program grew to $831,517. First post on Saturday's 11-race card will be at 2 p.m.

Post-race quotes:
JUAN GONZALEZ (Elm Drive, winner) – “Phil (trainer D'Amato) didn't give me any special instructions. He just said play the break and put her in a good spot. She broke well and I had her where I wanted her. When we turned for home and the other filly (Eda) came up outside us, my filly got real brave. She dug in. She's not afraid to fight. She's a good one.”

PHIL D'AMATO (Elm Drive, winner) – “She broke on top then Juan got her to rate, make a move and fight off a rival to her outside the length of the stretch. I just thought that's the epitome of class. Very professional, and I think she's the type of filly that the longer (the races) the better. (Debutante?) Yup, absolutely.”

FRACTIONS: :22.00 :46.00 :57.95 1:10.64

The stakes win was the third of the meeting for rider Hernandez, but his first in the Sorrento. He now has 10 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first of the meet for trainer D'Amato, but his second in the Sorrento (Spectator, 2017). He now has 30 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The winning owners are Little Red Feather Racing overseen by Billy Koch of Woodland Hills, CA.

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