Del Mar | Horse Racing Free Tips

Midcourt A Standout In Del Mar’s Native Diver Stakes

C R K Stable's Midcourt, the defending champion in Saturday's $100,000 Native Diver Stakes, looms as the one to catch and the one to beat in the 42nd edition of the nine-panel headliner that honors one of California's all-time great racehorses.

The Grade 3 stakes has drawn a short field of five and will be presented early on the nine-race Del Mar program – Race 2 to be exact. With the regular 12:30 first post in place, the stakes should go off shortly after 1 p.m.

Native Diver was the first California-bred to win $1 million in purses as he raced a remarkable 81 times between 1961 and 1967. The near-black speedster by Imbros out of the Devil Diver mare Fleet Diver – so popular and so ubiquitous that he earned the nicknames “The Diver,” “The California Comet” and “The Black Horse” — won an equally remarkable 37 races including a trio of local victories in the San Diego Handicap and a tally in the Del Mar Handicap on Sept. 4, 1967 that was the final start of his exceptional career.

Midcourt, a gelded 5-year-old by Midnight Lute, has won five of his 14 starts, including his 5 3/4 length triumph in last year's Native Diver. The John Shirreffs-trained runner – a winner of $546,695 in purses — has been handled by Victor Espinoza in most of his career starts and will have the Hall of Fame rider in the tack again Saturday. He's been running very competitively with Grade 1 horses of late and is listed as a solid 4/5 favorite on the Native Diver morning line.

Here's the lineup for the Saturday feature from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:

Hronis Racing's Combatant (Umberto Rispoli, 8-1); Don Alberto Stable's Stellar Sound (Tyler Baze, 6-1); Fox Hill Farms or Siena Farms' Royal Ship (Mike Smith, 4-1); Midcourt, and Jay Em Ess Stable's Extra Hope (Juan Hernandez, 3-1).

Combatant has a notable bankroll – all $1,049,498 of it. The 5-year-old ridgling by the late sire Scat Daddy has a claim to fame in capturing this year's edition of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap back in March, one of his four wins (to go with five seconds and five thirds) in 28 total starts. John Sadler trains Combatant.

Extra Hope chased home Midcourt in last year's Native Diver. The now 4-year-old homebred colt by Shanghai Bobby is a winner of three of 13 outings and has banked $234,831. He's trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Richard Mandella.

The first 36 runnings of the Native Diver were held at the now defunct Hollywood Park in Inglewood near Los Angeles International Airport. Upon his death, Native Diver was buried on the Hollywood Park grounds. But when the track was closed (and remade into what is now SoFi Stadium where the L.A. Rams and the L. A. Chargers play professional football), the horse's remains were dug up and shifted to Del Mar where they were reinterred in its infield.

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Bloodlines: Red Flag Flies The Banner For Sire Tamarkuz, La Troienne Family

Becoming the seventh freshman sire to get a graded stakes winner, Tamarkuz (by Speightstown) also chalked up his first stakes winner with the victory of Red Flag in the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar on Nov. 15.

Red Flag rolled into contention at the half-mile marker after odds-on favorite Spielberg (Union Rags) and second-choice Weston (Hit It a Bomb) roasted each other with a quarter-mile in :22.73 and a half in :45.34. At the half-mile pole, Red Flag was already at Weston's throatlatch, and the red colt went on to win by 7 1/4 lengths in 1:23.56 for the seven furlongs.

This was the second victory from three starts by the progressive colt that trainer John Shirreffs described as “not a great work horse in the mornings.” That contributed to making Red Flag the second-longest price on the odds board, but such will not be the case in the future.

Nor was Red Flag the only longshot who succeeded on Sunday; the immediate success of his sire Tamarkuz was not a given. A handsome son of leading sire Speightstown, Tamarkuz proved his mettle on the racetrack, racing through his 6-year-old season and winning his best race at that age in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, when he had subsequent champions Gun Runner and Accelerate behind him.

With only 29 foals in his first crop, Tamarkuz was not warmly embraced by local breeders when the horse went to stud. Nonetheless, he is making believers.

For any young sire prospect to be commercially effective, he needs to attract 100 mares or more in his initial book. That general number is necessary for a new sire to have much chance of keeping up with the other top members of any entering stallion crop of the last quarter-century or so.

Yet Tamarkuz, from 29 foals, has 10 starters, five winners, a graded stakes winner, and he now sits in 23rd on the list of freshmen sires.

Bred in Kentucky by Elaine Macpherson, Red Flag is the second stakes winner out of Surrender (Stormy Atlantic), whom Macpherson purchased through agent Gayle Van Leer for $40,000 out of the 2014 Keeneland November sale. At the time of sale, Surrender was a 5-year-old and was carrying her second foal on a cover to the Tiznow stallion Morning Line. The foal she produced in 2015 was a filly later named Surrender Now, and two years later, Surrender Now won the 2017 Landaluce Stakes.

Red Flag is the mare's fourth foal and second stakes winner. Sent to the 2018 Keeneland November sale, Red Flag sold for $50,000 to Rosetown Bloodstock out of the Warrendale Sales consignment. Brought to the 2019 Keeneland September yearling sale, the colt resold out of the Eaton Sales consignment for $220,000 to Michael Dorsey and races for Tina and Jerome Moss.

All of Surrender's four foals of racing age are winners, and the mare has a yearling colt by Tiznow named Tiz Toujours, who was bought back for $23,000 at the 2020 October yearling sale at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky. The mare's weanling is a colt by first-crop sire Mendelssohn and already carries the name Calm Sea, and Surrender was covered by Catholic Boy in his first season at stud in 2020.

A non-winner from two starts on the racetrack, Surrender has a most distinguished family. By one of Storm Cat's most consistent sons in Stormy Atlantic, Surrender is out of the Mr. Prospector mare Beaucette, a stakes-placed daughter of the graded stakes winner Mackie (Summer Squall).

Mackie was one of seven stakes winners out of the great broodmare Glowing Tribute (Graustark). The others included Grade 1 winners Sea Hero (Polish Navy), winner of the Kentucky Derby and Travers, and Hero's Honor (Northern Dancer), winner of the G1 United Nations and Bowling Green, as well as the latter's full sister Wild Applause.

Wild Applause was the only one of Glowing Tribute's daughters to carry on in a fashion similar to her famous dam, producing four graded stakes winners: Yell (A.P. Indy), Roar (Forty Niner), Trumpets Blare (Fit to Fight), and Eastern Echo (Damascus).

Although not that successful, Mackie produced a pair of graded winners, the Grade 2 Arlington Classic winner Mr. Mellon (Red Ransom) and Grade 3 winner Seeking the Best (Seeking the Gold). This branch of the family went a bit quiet with Beaucette, but her daughter Surrender has put this branch of the great La Troienne family back in the spotlight again.

Sold out of Marcel Boussac's stud in France to E.R. Bradley nearly a century ago, La Troienne produced 14 named foals, first for Bradley and then for Greentree Stud after the dispersal of Bradley's bloodstock. Five of the great mare's foals won stakes and even more became important producers. From the champions and major performers that her family has produced decade after decade around the world, La Troienne is a touchstone of quality in international breeding.

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Handicapping Challenge to Benefit Grayson-Jockey Club

Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation will partner with Little Red Feather Racing and Equibase to sponsor the ‘Gamble For Grayson Handicapping Challenge.’

The contest will take place Nov. 28 and 29 and will span five graded stakes races to be held that weekend at Del Mar. Representatives of Little Red Feather and Equibase will begin with $500 bankrolls, $100 must be wagered on each race on straight win-place-show bets, exactas, trifectas or superfectas. At the end of the contest, all remaining bankroll and winnings will be donated to Grayson.

The team representing Little Red Feather is Gary Fenton, managing partner of Little Red Feather; and Kenny Mayne, sports journalist for ESPN. The Equibase team is composed of Christina Blacker, TVG host, reporter, and analyst; and Ellis Star, national racing analyst for Equibase.

The races that have been selected for the Gamble for Grayson Handicapping Challenge are the GI Hollywood Derby and GI Matriarch S., the GII Seabiscuit H. and the GIII Jimmy Durante S. and GIII Cecil B. Demille S.

The post Handicapping Challenge to Benefit Grayson-Jockey Club appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Tamarkuz Colt Red Flag Cruises To Bob Hope Victory At Del Mar

The million-dollar yearling Spielberg went off as the odds-on favorite, but it was Red Flag – who “only” cost $220,000 at the same Kentucky sale – flying home the winner Sunday in the seventh edition of the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes for 2-year-olds at Del Mar.

Red Flag, from the first crop of the Speightstown stallion Tamarkuz, battled early with his more-expensive rival, but assumed command under Victor Espinoza approaching the quarter pole and drew out under a hand ride to an easy 7 1/4-length triumph. The victory was worth $60,000 from the $100,500 purse and pushed the youngster's earnings to $94,100 after three starts. He covered the seven furlongs in 1:23.56.

Red Flag is owned by Tina and Jerome Moss of Los Angeles and is trained by John Shirreffs. The chestnut colt's green and pink colors were familiar ones to those who followed the amazing career of the champion mare Zenyatta, co-owned by Jerome Moss and trained by Shirreffs.

Finishing second was Eric Homme's Uncle Boogie and third was Reddam Racing's Ambivalent. Spielberg, who is owned by a group that includes SF Racing, Starlight Racing or Madaket Stables and others, and went off at 3-5, finished fourth nearly 10 lengths behind the winner.

Red Flag paid $23.40, $9.60 and $9.40 across the board. Uncle Boogie returned $6.00 and $5.60, while Ambivalent paid $6.60 to show.

“John (trainer Shirreffs) said, 'You know him (Espinoza broke his maiden on him last out on Oct. 10 at Santa Anita), go ahead and see what you can do with him.' He broke running and he wanted to go. He seemed to be more professional today than last time. He's still a baby and he was fooling around before. Be he was good today and did all the right things. He'll go farther, for sure. With the way he ran today, why not?”

“I didn't really expect that kind of performance,” said Shirreffs. “I was hoping to get a placing. He broke his maiden from way off the pace and he's been doing better and better in the mornings, but he's not a brilliant work horse. So this was a pleasant surprise. You always hope but you never know. He's gone from 5 1/2-furlongs to seven, so it looks like he'll be able to go longer. It's special because (owners) Mr. and Mrs. Moss were here today and got to see him run.”

Leading rider Abel Cedillo and leading trainer Peter Miller won the nitecap together with Magical Thought ($20.60) and stayed on top in each of their categories after eight days of the current 15-day session. Cedillo now has 13 firsts and Miller has seven. Cedillo was the top rider at last fall's Bing Crosby meet and Miller has won four different versions of the “second season” at Del Mar.

Del Mar will return to action on Friday with first post at 12:30 p.m.

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