In a tight photo finish with three horses bidding for the win, Principe Carlo got the nod in the Cary Grant Stakes for California breds, the longshot springing the upset at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.
The field of seven broke in a line, with Colt Fiction showing a head in front first before Fashionably Fast took the lead coming out of the chute. Sprinting out to a short lead, Fashionably Fast had Positivity and Colt Fiction pressing the pace down the backstretch. Around the far turn, jockey Kent Desormeaux angled Principe Carlo to the outside, going four-wide into the stretch with Fashionably Fast, Positivity, and Colt Fiction to his inside.
Down the Del Mar stretch, Fashionably Fast could not hold on to the lead, with Positivity, Colt Fiction, and Principe Carlo coming on to his outside, vying for the lead. Colt Fiction took a short lead midstretch, but Positivity to his inside and Principe Carlo on the outside battled back. The three hit the wire together, a photo finish necessary to determine the winner. In the end, Principe Carlo got the bob, winning by a nose over Positivity, with Colt Fiction a neck back in third. None Above the Law, Peaceful Transfer, Fashionably Fast, and Loud Mouth rounded out the order of finish.
The final time for the seven-furlong Cary Grant was 1:22.33. Find this race's chart here.
Principe Carlo paid $39.00, $14.00, and $7.00. Positivity paid $4.60 and $3.40. Colt Fiction paid $3.40.
“I knew I'd won it. (Up by a nose in the last jump.) No special instructions for me. Just ride him. The track has been playing better on the outside today so I broke from the 7 and stayed out there the whole race. The horse ran great. He got it done,” jockey Kent Desormeaux said after the Cary Grant.
“My first stakes win anywhere. The horse has a heart of gold and it has been a team effort. We gave him some time off (a year after claiming from Keith Desormeauux in October of 2020) and that's all he needed. This means a lot. All I needed was a chance and people here and at Santa Anita have been very good in giving it to me,” trainer Librado Barocio told the Del Mar press office after the race.
Bred in California by Richard Barton Enterprises, Principe Carlo is by Coil out of the Rahy mare Princess Ezra (GB). The 5-year-old horse is owned by Mia Familia Racing Stable. Principe Carlo was a $4,000 RNA consigned by McCarthy Bloodstock at the 2018 Barretts Equine Limited Spring Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale. His win in the Cary Grant Stakes is the 5-year-old's first in two starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of 22-7-7-0 and career earnings of $367,543.
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