La Jolla, Graduation Stakes Headline Sunday Card At Del Mar

Stakes horses will once again double up for a Del Mar crowd, this time on Sunday with the presentation of the 81st La Jolla Stakes and the 70th edition of the Graduation Stakes. The races will go as the 6th and 9th races, respectively, on the shore track's 10-race program.

The La Jolla, a Grade 3 affair that carries a purse of $150,000, has drawn a half-dozen 3-year-olds for a mile and one-sixteenth jaunt on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course at Del Mar Thorughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif. The Graduation also has drawn six California-bred 2-year-old starters for its five and one-half furlong spin on the main track. It offers a purse of $100,000.

The Irish horse Cathkin Peak, owned by Sterling Stables, Nentwig, and CYBT, is a candidate to be the favorite in the La Jolla. A bay son of the Irish stallion Alhebayeb, Cathkin Peak raced once in his native land as a 2-year-old, then was purchased privately and shipped to California where he won a pair of races, including the overnight Eddie Logan at Santa Anita Park last December. He subsequently chased home the blossoming star Rock Your World in February's Pasadena Stakes, also at Santa Anita, then went on the shelf. This will be his first start in nearly six months, but trainer Phil D'Amato has put a series of steady works into him for this comeback.

Double L Stable and Natalie Baffert's Hudson Ridge hails from the powerful Bob Baffert barn and is a son of one of Baffert's Triple Crown winners, American Pharoah. The colt broke his maiden with a dead-head score in a straight maiden race at Santa Anita on May 1 and came back to win a pair of races after that, including the Cinema Stakes.

Two of the other La Jolla runners — Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal's Zoffarelli and Yuesheng Zhang's Sword Zorro also first saw light of day in Ireland. The former will be making his U.S. debut in the La Jolla, while the latter owns a victory in the Singletary Stakes at Santa Anita on grass April 25.

The Graduation – like many 2-year-old races at this time of year – is a tough one to sort out with only minimal past performances to work with. Morning line maker Jon White could barely separate two of the runners, hanging Lovingier, London, and Zondlo's Rock N Rye as an 8/5 favorite, just a tick better than Lovingier, Beckerle, and Carrillo's Thirsty Always at 9/5.

Rock N Rye is a homebred by Always Thirsty who was a handy winner of a straight maiden race in his second start at Santa Anita on May 30 in his most recent outing. He's been training steadily for this return date at both San Luis Rey Downs and Del Mar.

Thirsty Always, also by Stay Thirsty, scored in his first start at Santa Anita on May 16, then shipped up to Pleasanton and captured the Nevin Stakes there on July 10.

Trainer Walther Solis conditions both juveniles.

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Here's the lineup for the La Jolla from the rail out with riders and morning line odds: Steve Moger's Stilleto Boy (Kent Desormeaux, 6-1); Gary Barber's Wyfire (Kyle Frey, 12-1); Hudson Ridge (Abel Cedillo, 5/2); Cathkin Peak (Juan Hernandez, 2-1); Zoffarelli (Drayden Van Dyke, 3-1), and Sword Zorro (Umberto Rispoli, 4-1).

The field for the Graduation lays out like this: Lovingier or Templeton Horses' Mr. T's Thirsty (Tyler Baze, 2-1); McMahon or Rudy's Trip to Spain (Frey, 2-1); Thirsty Always (apprentice Cesar Ortega); Rock N Rye (Rispoli); Moger, Burke or Estrada, et al's Northvale Road (Tiago Periera, 6-1), and Branch or Hill's Fowler Blue (Edwin Maldonado, 12-1).

First post for Sunday's card is 2 p.m.

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Beer Can Man Ready For His Close-Up After Cecil B. DeMille Victory

The 2-year-old colt Beer Can Man made his West Coast debut a winning one when he tracked the leaders early, then fired late to capture the seventh edition of the $103,000 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes Sunday at Del Mar.

The bay son of Can the Man scored by half a length under rider Juan Hernandez in the mile on turf run in 1:34.75. He had been competing at Indiana Downs in the Midwest where he'd won two of four starts, but was purchased privately and shipped to the barn of local trainer Mark Glatt.

Beer Can Man is now owned by the racing group called Little Red Feather Racing with their partner Sterling Stables. He picked up $60,000 as his share of the winning purse in the Grade 3 feature and now has a bankroll that reads $100,580.

Finishing second in the juvenile grass test was Sarah Kelly's Caisson and running third was Nguyen or Tran's Commander Khai.

“One jump out of there he came (back) to me,” said Hernandez. “He settled real well. I just found me spot tracking the leaders and I was happy. At the quarter pole I asked him to go and he did. He really fired. He didn't want to let horses go past him, either. He's a nice horse.”

The winner, an outsider in the 11-horse lineup, returned $41.20, $14.80 and $10.60 across the board. Caisson paid $6.20 and $7.20 and Commandeer Khai returned $10.40 to show.

“We've had him about six weeks,” said Glatt. “We entered him the first weekend of the meeting, thinking we could run then and then come back in this race. But that race didn't go. So (the owners) told me to get him ready to go a mile. I was a little skeptical to be honest, but the horse relaxed great, Juan (Hernandez) put a nice ride on him and he got the money.”

The stakes win was the third of the meet for rider Hernandez, but his first in the Cecil B. DeMille. He now has seven stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first of the meet for trainer Glatt and his first in the Cecil B. DeMille. He now has 11 stakes wins at Del Mar.

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Frontrunning Raymundos Secret Just Lasts In John C. Mabee

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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