Del Mar | Horse Racing Free Tips

Campaign Aiming For Repeat In Sunday’s Cougar II Stakes At Del Mar

Six well-seasoned racehorses with large, full lungs will run a testing mile and one half at Del Mar Sunday in the 70th edition of the Cougar II Stakes. The race carries a Grade 3 enhancement and has a purse of $100,000.

Though the Cougar II has a relatively short field, it doesn't lack for solid stakes horses. Four of the runners are stakes winners, including the defending Cougar II champion – Woodford Racing's Campaign, who captured the race in 2019 when it was last run.

The Cougar II — named for the South American racehorse who came north and into the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham where he went on to a Hall of Fame career that included being named U.S. grass champion in 1972 – is not for the faint of heart at its 12-furlong distance, and the majority of the half dozen who'll give it a go Sunday have shown an affinity for marathons.

Campaign, as noted, has won at a mile and one half. Flawless Racing, Masino Racing Stable or Flanagan, et al's Cupid's Claw has done likewise. Same same for MyRacehorse or Spendthrift Farm's Tizamagician. And Little Red Feather Racing, Jacobsen or Belmonte's Red King has won at a mile and three quarters. Hronis Racing's Heywood Beach has “only” won at a mile and a quarter, while Gary Barber's Contagion is coming off three mile wins in his last five starts.

Here's the lineup from the rail out with riders and weights: Heywood Beach (Tyler Baze, 121); Contagion (Juan Hernandez, 121); Campaign (Trevor McCarthy, 121); Red King (Umberto Rispoli, 123); Cupid's Claws (Kent Desormeaux, 123), and Tizamagician (Flavien Prat, 123).

Tizamagaician, a 4-year-old colt by Tiznow who races out of the Richard Mandella barn, shows four wins and seven seconds from 17 starts and a bankroll of $367,851. He was second most recently in the venerable Brooklyn Invitational Stakes at Belmont Park going 12 furlongs when he was shipped east for the June 5 tilt.

Red King, a 7-year-old entire horse by English Channel, sports seven wins and career earnings of $483,755. Among his victories was a score in last summer's mile and three eighths Del Mar Handicap on the local Jimmy Durante Turf Course.

Cupid's Claws captured the mile and one half Tokyo City Cup Stakes at Santa Anita last September. The 6-year-old Kitten's Joy gelding has earnings approaching $200,000.

The Cougar II is the 10th of 11 races on the Sunday card that begins at 2 p.m. and closes out the first week of Del Mar racing. Also on the program is a nice $80,000 overnight race called the Wickerr Stakes that has drawn eight runner for a mile on the turf and is offered as Race 7.

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The Friday Show Presented By Monmouth Park: ‘Jersey Joe’ Bravo Tries A Different Shore

A 13-time riding champion at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., Joe Bravo has shifted his tack to Southern California in time for Friday's opening of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club meeting in Del Mar, Calif. For the first time in years, he'll be watching Haskell Stakes day at Monmouth Park from afar because of his unwillingness to ride under the rules imposed by the New Jersey Racing Commission banning the whip for anything other than safety.

Before getting legged up for his West Coast invasion, Bravo joined publisher Ray Paulick and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills in this week's edition of the Friday Show to talk about what it takes to win at the track where he earned the moniker “Jersey Joe.” For example, Bravo said the speed of the racetrack and front-end or closing biases at Monmouth can be influenced by the tides of the nearby Atlantic Ocean. He suggests watching the color of the dirt track to see if it gets darker or lighter during a day's races as the tides go in or out. That can change how races are run, Bravo said.

Bravo is enthusiastic for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, a national oversight body for medication and safety regulations in horse racing scheduled to be in place in July 2022. Bravo is looking to HISA to bring uniform national rules for use of the riding crop – currently prohibited in New Jersey for anything other than safety – and medication.

Watch this week's show, presented by Monmouth Park, below:

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Royal Ship Looms The Horse To Beat In Saturday’s San Diego ‘Cap

The Brazilian-bred 5-year-old Royal Ship has found his footing on dry land of late and could take a lot of beating at Del Mar Saturday as he heads a field of nine in the 80th edition of the $250,000, Grade 2 San Diego Handicap.

The gelded son of Del Mar's 2008 Del Mar Futurity winner, Midshipman, fired two big shots at Santa Anita this spring, winning the Grade 2 Californian and being beaten a head in the Grade 1 Gold Cup. Both races were on the main track, a relatively new chapter for the South American who had raced primarily on the turf.

The bay will go postward Saturday with a couple of sizeable pluses in his sails. First, he's trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, always a good thing for a horse, especially so if you've come north from South America, a Mandella specialty. Then Royal Ship also gets the advantage of being guided by Hall of Famer Mike Smith, a man who has ridden more stakes winners then there are sailboats on San Diego Bay on a Sunday afternoon. The likely race favorite will pack topweight of 124 pounds and break from Post 4.

Second highweight at 123 and likely the favorite's chief threat is CRK Stable's Express Train, a hard-knocking colt by Union Rags who has won a graded stakes and been placed in three others thus far in 2021. The John Shirreff's trained 4-year-old will get the saddle services of his regular partner, J. J. Hernandez, as they start their journey from Post 5 right alongside Royal Ship.

Here's the full field for the San Diego from the rail out with weights and riders:

Daniell or Daniell's Rushie (121, Umberto Rispoli)
John Sondereker's Kiss Today Goodbye (120, Victor Espinoza)
Joe Peacock's Sheriff Brown (118, Edwin Maldonado)
Royal Ship
Express Train
Martin or Martin's Mo Mosa (120, Ramon Vazquez)
Summer Wind Equine's Magic On Tap (120, Abel Cedillo)
Hronis Racing's Tripoli (118, Tiago Pereira)
Hronis Racing's Heywoods Beach (118, Trevor McCarthy)

The San Diego is considered the shore track's key prep race for its centerpiece – the $750,000 TVG Pacific Classic, which this year will be run on Saturday, August 21. It goes at a mile and a quarter for 3-year-olds and up.

Also on the Saturday card is the Osunitas Stakes, an overnight for fillies and mares that carries an $80,000 purse. The mile on the turf has drawn a field of nine, including a pair out of trainer Richard Baltas' barn in Nasty and Ippodamia's Girl.

First post Saturday is 2 p.m. for the 11-race card.

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TVG Plans Extensive Coverage Of Del Mar Meet

Opening Day at Del Mar begins on Friday, July 16 and TVG, America's horse racing network, will be live on-site for each day of the prestigious meet with enhanced coverage, features and expert analysis. The weekend broadcast will also include the $1 million TVG Haskell Invitational from Monmouth Park featuring TVG Pegasus Stakes winner Mandaloun and Belmont Stakes (GI) runner-up Hot Rod Charlie.

TVG will have a full roster of talent on-site at Del Mar throughout the meet including Todd Schrupp, Simon Bray, Christina Blacker, Joaquin Jaime, Caleb Keller, Dave Weaver and Scott Hazelton with exclusive interviews, insights and handicapping selections. There will be new touchscreen technology on the set which will allow mark-up replays and graphics to introduce enhanced handicapping coverage.

The supersized coverage will utilize a total of 28 cameras – eight more than in previous meets – and will also give fans a behind-the-scenes look through a Jockey Cam utilized every day of the meet by leading riders including Umberto Rispoli, Flavien Prat and Jessica Pyfer.

“We're investing more than ever before and pulling out all the stops to give viewers an immersive experience for the Runhappy Del Mar summer meet,” said Kevin Grigsby, Executive Producer and Senior Vice President of Television. “We're not just covering the races. We plan to follow horses from the barn, to the paddock, to the gate, around the track and back, and we plan to use the jockey cams to give our viewers a closer look at some of what happens before the actual races in a way that helps their handicapping.”

Del Mar has a ten-race card lined up for Opening Day and the featured race is the $100,000 Runhappy Oceanside Stakes. Restricted to three-year-olds, the one-mile contest will be contested on the turf and has drawn a full field of fourteen sophomores. Dream Shake, third in the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (GI) will be making his turf debut for trainer Peter Eurton and will have Joe Bravo in the irons.

The coverage of Del Mar's meet will run through Labor Day and will include the TVG Pacific Classic (GI) on August 21. The TVG Pacific Classic is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge races which will earn the winner an automatic berth into the Breeders' Cup which will be held at Del Mar on November 5-6.

There will be on-site coverage throughout the weekend at Monmouth Park leading up to the $1 million TVG.com Haskell Invitational on Saturday, July 17. TVG's Mike Joyce, Gabby Gaudet, Caton Bredar and Larry Collmus will be reporting live from New Jersey with insights, interviews and analysis leading up to the marquee race for 3-year-olds.

The TVG Haskell (GI) has drawn a field of seven 3-year-olds with the Doug O'Neill-trained Hot Rod Charlie installed as the morning line favorite at 6-5 odds with Flavien Prat aboard. Mandaloun, a homebred for Juddmonte Farms, is the second choice at odds of 2-1 for trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux.

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