delaware park | Horse Racing Free Tips

Dunbar Road Outclasses ‘Em in Del ‘Cap

On a day when Chad Brown secured his 100th and 101st Grade I victories, Dunbar Road–already a Grade I winner herself–added to the haul in an event that was downgraded from highest-level status a couple years ago. Saving all the ground tucked just behind the speed early, the prohibitive favorite split rivals under confident handling heading for home. Saracosa tried to shadow that one’s move, but Dunbar Road simply outclassed her competition to win geared down by as much as she pleased.

An eight-length debut winner at Gulfstream last March, Dunbar Road was a close second in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks 27 days later. Excluded from the GI Kentucky Oaks, she cleared her ‘1x’ at Belmont at the end of May and was a shoe-in winner of that track’s GII Mother Goose S. a month later. She had a similarly easy time of it in the GI Alabama S. over 10 furlongs in the Saratoga slop in August, but settled for third behind Blue Prize (Arg) (Pure Prize) and Elate (Medaglia d’Oro) first time against her elders in the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. at Keeneland Oct. 6. She was fifth behind Blue Prize in the GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff Nov. 2, and returned with an easy victory in Churchill’s Shawnee S. May 23.

Saturday, Delaware Park
DELAWARE H.-GII, $400,000, Delaware, 7-11, 3yo/up, f/m,
1 1/8m, 1:49.02, ft.
1–DUNBAR ROAD, 123, f, 4, by Quality Road
                1st Dam: Gift List, by Bernardini
                2nd Dam: Private Gift, by Unbridled
                3rd Dam: Private Status, by Alydar
($350,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP). O-Peter M. Brant; B-Jeffery J.
Drown (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $240,000.
Lifetime Record: GISW, 9-6-1-1, $998,040.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++ Triple Plus*.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Saracosa, 116, m, 5, Bernardini–Homeschooling, by Medaglia
d’Oro. ($85,000 RNA Ylg ’16 KEESEP). O-Chad Schumer
B-Meritage Ventures, Inc. (KY); T-Cipriano Contreras. $80,000.
3–Bellera, 118, f, 4, Bernardini–Habiboo, by Unbridled’s Song.
($90,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP). O-Mathis Stable LLC, Madake
Stables LLC & Doheny Racing Stable; B-Hardacre Farm (FL);
T-Todd A. Pletcher. $40,000.
Margins: 3, 1, HD. Odds: 0.20, 6.30, 6.00.
Also Ran: Over Thinking, Wicked Awesome, Lucky Move. Scratched: Always Shopping, Vexatious. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Pedigree Notes:

Dunbar Road is one of a number of recent graded performers to stamp Bernardini as one of the most coveted broodmares sires of the moment, and she was followed home Saturday by two daughters of that Darley stalwart. She is the granddaughter of SW Private Gift, a half-sister to MGISW Secret Status, by Bernardini’s sire A.P. Indy. Gift List’s last reported foal is the unraced 3-year-old filly On the Good List (Speightstown), who sold to Repole Stable for $230,000 at KEENOV ’19.

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Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 Features Belmont, Keeneland, And Delaware Park Races

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5, featuring a combined four graded stakes among Keeneland and Delaware Park, on Saturday, July 11.

Live coverage of races in the sequence on the final Saturday of the Belmont Park spring/summer meet will be available with America's Day at the Races on FS1 and MSG+.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Keeneland will start the wager with Race 6 at 3:51 p.m. with the Grade 2, $150,000 Shakertown for 3-year-olds and up going 5 ½ furlongs on turf. Wildman Jack, trained by Doug O'Neill, is listed at 5-2 on the morning line as part of an overflow 14-horse field. Wildman Jack enters off a win in the Grade 3 Daytona on May 23 at Santa Anita. In March, he set a track record at Meydan Racecourse with his win in the Group 3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint, completing six furlongs on the turf course in 1:07.61.

Delaware Park will host the second leg, with the Grade 3, $125,000 Robert G. Dick Memorial for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up in Race 7 at 4:15 p.m. Gentle Ruler will be seeking a repeat victory in the 1 3/8-mile turf route, which attracted a 10-horse field. Gentle Ruler, trained by Ian Wilkes, made an appearance at Saratoga Race Couse following her 2019 victory at Delaware Park, running fourth in the Grade 3 Fasig-Tipton Waya in August. She then won back-to-back stakes, including the Grade 3 Dowager in October at Keeneland to cap her campaign. She started her 5-year-old year with a runner-up effort in the Grade 3 Orchid in March at Gulfstream Park before besting allowance company in June at Churchill Downs.

Action shifts back to Keeneland for the next two races, starting with the Grade 1, $350,000 Jenny Wiley for older fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles on turf in Race 8 at 4:57 p.m. Rushing Fall, a four-time Grade 1-winner trained by Chad Brown, made her first start since October when she won the Grade 3 Beaugay by two lengths on June 3 at Belmont. She now enters the Jenny Wiley as the 6-5 favorite in the eight-horse field that also includes the Brazilin-bred Jolie Olimpica [5-2 morning line], who has two graded stakes wins already this year. Trained by Richard Mandella, the 4-year-old Drosselmeyer filly captured the Grade 3 Las Cienegas in January and the Grade 2 Monrovia last out on May 25, with both wins coming at Santa Anita.

Race 9, at 5:30 p.m., will showcase the Grade 2, $600,000 Blue Grass for sophomores. Offering 100-40-20-10 qualifying points to the top-four finishers towards September's Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, the 96th running of the Blue Grass will see filly Swiss Skydiver take on the boys in the 1 1/8-mile contest as part of a 13-horse field. Trained by Kenneth McPeek, two-time Blue Grass winner, Swiss Skydiver will look to earn her first Derby qualifying points after winning three graded stakes this year and securing a spot in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on September 4, racking up 310 points towards the “Lilies for the fillies.”

No filly has ever won the Blue Grass, but a strong showing could see Swiss Skydiver dream of running for the roses instead. To get there, she will take on a field that includes Basin, who won last year's Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga and most recently ran second in a division of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Basin is ninth on the Derby leaderboard with 50 points.

Belmont Park, on the final Saturday of the spring/summer meet, will close out the sequence with Race 9 at 5:36 p.m. A 14-horse field of New York-bred 3-year-olds and up will contest at seven furlongs on the turf and includes Uncle George, listed at 7-2 on the morning line, and Big Wonder, at 6-1.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, July 11:
Leg 1 – Keeneland, Race 6: Grade 2 Shakertown (3:51 p.m.)
Leg 2 – Delaware Park, Race 7: Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial (4:15 p.m.)
Leg 3 – Keeneland, Race 8: Grade 1 Jenny Wiley (4:57 p.m.)
Leg 4 – Keeneland, Race 9: Grade 2 Blue Grass (5:30 p.m.)
Leg 5 – Belmont, Race 9: (5:36 p.m.)

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Dunbar Road Tops Field Of Eight In Delaware Handicap

Peter M. Brant's Dunbar Road tops the 83rd renewal of the $400,000 Grade II Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park this Saturday. The filly and mare summer classic has attracted a field of eight. This is the first time the race will be run at a mile and an eighth. The race had been contested at mile and a quarter and prior to 1951 at a mile and a sixteenth.

In her only outing this year, Dunbar Road posted a 1 ¾-length victory in the mile and a sixteenth $100,000 Shawnee Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 23. Last year, the 4-year-old trained by Chad Brown won the Grade II Mother Goose at Belmont Park and the Grade I Alabama at Saratoga before running third in the Grade I Spinster at Keeneland. The daughter of Quality Road closed her 2019 campaign by finishing fifth in the Grade I Breeder's' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita. She has career record of five wins, a second and a third from eight starts with earnings $758,040.

The morning-line odds second choice is Mathis Stable, Madaket Stables and Doheny Racing Stable's Bellera. The 4-year-old trained by Todd Pletcher has a career record of four wins, two seconds and a third from nine starts with earnings of $275,560. In her most recent, the daughter of Bernardini finished seventh in the $100,000 Ginger Punch over the Gulfstream Park grass on June 6. Previously, she ran third in the seven furlong $100,000 Musical Romance at Gulfstream Park on May 16. In her only other outing this year, she won the mile and an eighth $100,000 Ladies Handicap at Aqueduct on January 19. Last year, she posted three wins and two seconds from six starts including a score in Grade III Comely Stakes. She has a career record of four wins, two seconds and a third from nine starts with earnings of $275,560.

“We like the mile and an eighth around two turns for her,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “She's shown that is what she likes. We're happy to get her back to what she's best suited for.”

Pletcher has also entered Repole Stable's Always Shopping. In her most recent, the 4-year-old daughter of Awesome Again finished fourth going a mile and an eighth on the grass in the Treasure Coast Stakes at Gulfstream Park on June 7. In her only other outing this year, the Kentucky-bred ran third in a one mile allowance at Gulfstream Park on April 18. Last year, she won a pair of stakes Aqueduct including the Grade II Gazelle Stakes before completing her 3-year-old campaign by running sixth in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico. She has a career record of two wins, two seconds and a third from eight starts with earnings of $261,840.

Pletcher is seeking his fifth Delaware Handicap victory, which would set the record for most wins by a trainer in the race. Pletcher won his first Delaware Handicap in 2001 with Irving's Baby; he followed with back-to-back victories with Fleet Indian in 2006 and Unbridled Belle in 2007, and his most recent was with Life at Ten in 2010. He is currently tied with Henry Clark, who won the race in in 1958 and 1959 with Endine and in 1969 and 1970 with Obeah.

The mare who is starting to get real good at the right time is Ten Strike Racing's Lucky Move. In her most recent, the daughter of Lookin at Lucky posted her first career stakes by notching a 1 ¼-length score in the mile and a sixteenth $100,000 Obeah Stakes at Delaware Park on June 17. Previously, the New York-bred conditioned by Juan Carlos Guerrero ran third and fourth in a pair of Aqueduct New York state-bred allowances. In her only other outing this year, she finished second to Bellera in the Ladies Handicap. She has a career record of five wins, seven seconds and four thirds from 27 starts.

“She has been getting bigger and stronger,” said trainer Juan Carlos Guerrero. “We knew she was a bit of a longshot going into the Obeah, but she looked like a million dollars and when you watched her train, she stood apart from everybody in the way she was doing it. I really liked her chances in the Obeah, but I was not expecting that big of an effort. Since the Obeah, she has been doing great. We worked her the other day and she went so easy, I was afraid she went faster than we wanted (she breezed five furlongs in :59 2/5 at Parx on July 3). But, the rider barely even asked her and she came out of it alert and bouncing. It was like she barely did anything. So, she really could not be doing any better and we are excited about Saturday.”

$400,000 Grade II Delaware Handicap

For fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up

at a mile and an eighth

PP	HORSE	OWNER	TRAINER	JOCKEY	Wg	OD
1	Vexatious	Calumet Farm	Jack Sisterson	Miguel Mena	115	12-1
2	Dunbar Road	Peter Brant	Chad Brown	Irad Ortiz Jr.	123	6/5
3	Wicked Awesome	Warwick Stable	A. Ferris Allen	Horacio Karamanos	113	15-1
4	Bellera	Mathis, Madaket, Doheny	Todd Pletcher	Trevor McCarthy	118	7/2
5	Always Shopping	Repole Stable	Todd Pletcher	Carol Cedeno	119	5-1
6	Lucky Move	Ten Strike Racing	Juan Carlos Guerrero	Roberto Rosado	117	8-1
7	Saracosa	Chad Schumer	Cipriano Contreras	Martin Garcia	116	10-1
8	Over Thinking	G. Watts Humphrey	Victoria Oliver	Jaime Rodriguez	114	15-1

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Cross Country Pick 5 From Delaware, Belmont Handles $259,823; Pays $3,295

Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5, featuring all graded stakes races at Belmont Park and Delaware Park, paid $3,295 for selecting all five winners for the 50-cent wager. The total pool was $259,823.

Delaware Park hosted the first two legs, starting the sequence with a huge price when Project Whiskey captured the Grade 3, $300,000 Delaware Oaks in Race 8. The 1 1/16-mile dirt route for 3-year-old fillies saw Project Whiskey, trained by Robert Reid, Jr., win her graded stakes debut after going off at 38-1. Ridden by Frankie Pennington, Project Whiskey returned $79.60 on a $2 win bet.

The remainder of the Cross Country Pick 5 was more chalky, with favorite Gufo winning the Grade 3, $125,000 Kent in Race 9. Piloted by Trevor McCarthy, the son of Declaration of War was a half-length winner for Clement in the 1 1/8-mile turf route for sophomores. He paid $3.20.

Belmont hosted the final three legs, starting with a bang with Vekoma's 1 ¼-length win in the Grade 1, $500,000 Runhappy Met Mile – one of five graded stakes on Belmont Park's loaded card – in Race 9 to give trainer George Weaver his first win in the prestigious race. Vekoma stayed undefeated in his 4-year-old campaign, improving to 3-for-3 in defeating a talented field that included 2019 Grade 1 Runhappy Travers-winner Code of Honor and last year's Grade 1 Whitney winner in McKinzie. Ridden by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, who notched his third Runhappy Met Mile win, Vekoma paid $5.90.

Race 10 at Belmont saw another prestigious Grade 1, the $400,000 Manhattan, with trainer Chad Brown saddling the first-and-second-place finishers in Instilled Regard and Rockemperor. Instilled Regard [$6.30], under Belmont spring/summer meet-leading rider Irad Ortiz, Jr., edged his stablemate by a neck to win the contest for 4-year-olds and up at 1 ¼-miles on the inner turf. It marked the sixth win in the Manhattan for Brown.

The concluding leg saw the top-two finishers of the 2019 Grade 1 Belmont Stakes rematch in the Grade 2, $200,000 Suburban in Race 11. Tacitus, who was runner-up in that Belmont Stakes, along with running second in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and Runhappy Travers at Saratoga, finally earned a return trip to the winner's circle, romping to an 8 ¾-length win. Tacitus completed the 1 ¼-mile course in 1:59.51, never having been seriously challenged in the stretch, and returned $4.20. He was trained and ridden by a pair of Hall of Famers in Bill Mott and John Velazquez, respectively.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

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