raymundo's secret | Horse Racing Free Tips

Going straight to the front at the outset under Flavien Prat and setting all the fractions, Sierra Racing and Sterling Stables LLC's Raymundos Secret reached the wire just in time to hold off a fast-finishing Lady Prancealot and Umberto Rispoli to win Saturday's Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes at Del Mar near San Diego, Calif., by a nose.

Catch the Eye was third and Zee Drop fourth in the field of eight fillies and mares going nine furlongs on turf. Raymundos Secret was timed in 1:48.60 on firm turf after fractions of :24.87, :48.60, 1:12.52 and 1:36.16 were posted.

Raymundos Secret was favored at 7-5 with Lady Prancealot the 8-5 second choice.

The victory was Prat's fourth of the afternoon, giving him 46 for the summer session in 25 days of racing. Rispoli, who was blanked on Saturday, has 45.

“The plan wasn't necessarily to go to the front; just to break her out of there and see what happens,” said Prat. “She broke super sharp and we were on the lead. From there I just tried to get her to relax and to slow it down as best as I could. Then when we went for home, she gave me a good kick. She just had enough at the end.”

The Mabee was Prat's 13th stakes success of the meet, equaling the record number set by Rafael Bejarano in 2012.

“It's a good accomplishment. I'm glad for it. I'm hoping I've got one or two more before we're done here, too.”

Trained by Phil D'Amato, Raymundos Secret earned her first black-type win in the Mabee and fifth win overall in seven starts. Bred in Florida by Edward Seltzer, Beverly Anderson and Joseph Barbazon, Raymundos Secret was produced from the Greatness mare, Paulette Caveat.

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The 63rd edition of the John C. Mabee Stakes at Del Mar Saturday has drawn a field of eight older fillies and mares headed by a pair of on-the-rise 4-year-olds in Raymundos Secret and Lady Prancealot.

The Grade II race with its $150,000 purse goes as the 10th of 11 on a card that will have an early starting time of 1 p.m.

Raymundos Secret, a Florida-bred by a British stallion named Treasure Beach, comes into the mile and one-eighth Mabee off a photo-finish tally in a one-mile allowance race at Del Mar on August 14. That was the first start by the Phil D'Amato-trained bay since October 26 of last year, so it surely should serve as a good tightener. It was also the filly's fourth win in six lifetime starts, all on the green. She races for the partnership of Sierra Racing or Sterling Stables.

Lady Prancealot, who does her running out of the barn of trainer Richard Baltas, comes into the Mabee off a series of stakes tries against some of the better grass fillies and mares on the west coast. The Irish-bred by Sir Prancealot most recently finished fourth – beaten less than two lengths despite trouble along the way – in the Grade II Yellow Ribbon at Del Mar on August 8. Last year she won the Grade III Valley View at Keeneland and the Grade I American Oaks at Santa Anita and sports a bankroll of $574,841. She's owned by McClanahan, Iavarone or Parkland Thoroughbreds.

Interestingly, though not surprisingly, the top two riders at the session – Umberto Rispoli and Flavien Prat – ride the top two fillies in the feature. Rispoli will get a leg up on Lady Prancealot, while Prat goes aboard Raymundos Secret.

Here's the full field for the headliner from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:

Amerman Racing's Catch the Eye (J.C. Diaz, Jr., 15-1); Lady Prancealot (5/2); Sondereker, Lewkowitz or Albert, et al's Don't Blame Judy (Drayden Van Dyke, 10-1); Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams' Pulpit Rider (Juan Hernandez, 5-1); Little Red Feather Racing's Zee Drop (Abel Cedillo, 6-1); Jeong or Johnson's Meal Ticket (Tiago Pereira, 15-1); Hronis Racing's Quick (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 8-1), and Raymundos Secret (2-1).

Pulpit Rider comes into the Mabee off a photo-finish score in the Solana Beach Stakes for California-breds going a mile on the grass at Del Mar on August 15. The 5-year-old mare by the late Lucky Pulpit has won six races and more than $460,000 in purses.

Zee Drop, a 4-year-old chestnut by Lemon Drop Kid, steps into stakes competition for the first time. She's won three of her eight lifetime outings, including a victory on the green at Del Mar last September.

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