Collected’s Conclude Strong in Oceanside on Del Mar’s Opening Weekend

Conclude (Collected) brought his stakes-winning form with him from Santa Anita and returned to the winner's circle in Del Mar's customary opening day feature–the Caesars Sportsbook Oceanside S.

A winner a black-type winner at the turf sprint distance last out May 21 in Santa Anita's Desert Code S., Conclude's first race after his freshening from that contest proved fruitful as the 9-2 second choice here. Showing some early speed after the jump but quickly overtaken and outrun by a loose leader on the clubhouse turn, the chestnut son of GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Believe You Can bided his time in second as Game Time (Not This Time) reeled off :22.17, :46.58 and 1:11.32 splits. Three furlongs out and locking horns with that one around the far turn, Conclude took over nearing the head of the stretch and drove clear to a stylish 1 1/4-length victory. The 5-2 favorite Classical Cat tried gamely to catch him but had to settle for second while 26-1 shocker Ah Jeez gave his sire two of the top three placings in the trifecta. Conditioner Philip D'Amato went 1-2 as well as picking up his 45th stakes victory and third Oceanside S.

“When he opened up a length or two at the top of the lane, I thought he was the horse,” said D'Amato after the race. “Classical Cat was coming on pretty good, but I think when Conclude felt him, he just spurted out again. I'm proud of both my horses.”

Conclude is his dam's most recent to the races as she aborted her 2021 American Pharoah. Believe You Can did have a yearling filly by Nyquist but her 2023 foal by Essential Quality was stillborn. The mare is a full-sister to the dam of GISP King Russell (Creative Cause) and a half to the dam of MSP Baytown Bear (Upstart). This is the family of MGSW Classic Elegance; MGISP Standard Deviation (Curlin); and multiple course record-setter GSP Summer to Remember (Summer Front). Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

CAESARS SPORTSBOOK OCEANSIDE S., $104,000, Del Mar, 7-21, (C), 3yo, 1mT, 1:35.09, fm.
1–CONCLUDE, 120, c, 3, by Collected
        1st Dam: Believe You Can (GISW, $1,280,324), by Proud Citizen
        2nd Dam: El Fasto, by El Prado (Ire)
        3rd Dam: Taegu, by Halo
($140,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables LLC and Brereton C. Jones; B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-Philip D'Amato; J-Hector Isaac Berrios. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-1-0, $179,600. *1/2 to Believe in Royalty (Tapit), SW & GSP, $194,385.
2–Classical Cat, 124, c, 3, Mendelssohn–Conquest Strate Up, by Not Bourbon. ($65,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Michael House; B-Pippa's Hurricane LLC (KY); T-Philip D'Amato. $20,000.
3–Ah Jeez, 120, c, 3, Mendelssohn–Poetic, by Violence. ($80,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $55,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR). O-Great Friends Stables, LLC and Mark Davis; B-Machmer Hall (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $12,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 1HF, 3/4. Odds: 4.70, 2.50, 26.00.
Also Ran: Mas Rapido (GB), Game Time, Agency, Ze'bul, El Oro (Fr), Zalamo (Fr), Mr Fisk, Escape Artist, Kid Azteca, Ever a Rebel. Scratched: Panic Alarm (Ire).

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Del Mar Kicks Off Summer Meet On Friday With Big Field In Oceanside, Fans Back In The Stands

A gate full of 3-year-olds will run a mile on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course Friday in the 76th edition of the Runhappy Oceanside Stakes, the highlight of a 10-race card that welcomes racing – and its fans – back to Del Mar for the start of the seaside track's 82nd summer season in Del Mar, Calif.

Following the 2020 session at the shore that saw racing conducted before a silent and empty grandstand, this year's roar of the crowd as the runners dash down the stretch should be sweet music for all involved. Del Mar is requiring that all in attendance have a seat, so it appears likely the opener will see approximately 16,000 fans on board as the show gets started with a 2 p.m. PT first post.

Fourteen runners have had their names listed for the grassy Oceanside, so traffic and good luck will play key roles in the first leg of the Del Mar turf triple for sophomores that will continue with the La Jolla Stakes on August 8 and climax with the Del Mar Derby on September 4.

While several of the Oceanside sophs deserve an extra look coming into the test, two seem to stand out a bit above their rivals:  Exline-Border Racing, SAF Racing or Hausman, et al's Dream Shake and Downstream Racing's None Above the Law.

The former has been banging heads with some of the best 3-year-olds in the country during his brief five-race career so far this year and has been graded stakes-placed on three occasions. This will be his first attempt on the lawn, but his breeding – by Twirling Candy out of a Street Cry mare – says he should be right at home on it. Trainer Peter Eurton has named West Coast newcomer Joe Bravo to ride.

None Above the Law is a California-bred gelding by the Japanese-bred stallion Karakontie who races out of the Peter Miller barn. The gray stretch-runner was a double stakes winner at Golden Gate Fields in the Bay Area this spring and has shown an affinity for the grass. None Above the Law is a four-time winner and will have the saddle services of top rider Juan Hernandez.

Del Mar will race Friday-Saturday-Sunday for the first two weeks of its 31-day session, then stretch out to a Thursday through Sunday format for the remaining six weeks that will finish finally on Labor Day Monday, September 6.

The track will feature one of its most robust stakes schedules ever with 39 black type offerings worth more than $7.1 million. It also has an enhanced “Ship & Win” program for attracting out-of-state horses and early word is that it is working. Several Eastern and/or Midwestern trainers have sent strings to the track and the spice of competition from new faces has the makings for a fine summer stew.

First post daily will be at 2 p.m. with the exceptions of Fridays (other than Opening Day) when it shifts to 4 p.m. The final two Fridays of the stand – August 27 and September 3 – will see an adjustment to a 3:30 p.m. start to the day's activities.

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