Pegram, Watson and Weitman's Defunded (Dialed In) looked poised for big things when second in last year's GIII Affirmed S. and GIII Los Alamitos Derby, but went to the sidelines following an optional-claimer romp at Del Mar in August. The  4-year-old, 3-1 on the morning line, resurfaced with a powerful victory in a one-mile optional claimer at Santa Anita May 8 in his first start for trainer Sean McCarthy.

Fox Hill Farms and Siena Farm's Royal Ship (Brz) (Midshipman) missed by just a head to subsequent G1 Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer (Tonalist) in last year's Gold Cup. He returned from eight months on the sidelines to score a front-running victory in the Apr. 10 John Shear S. last time out.

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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.

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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“I don't think there were any surprises today,” Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning said of the July Selected Horses of Racing Age sale. “It was a very active market with very competitive bidding throughout the day. [It had a] really vibrant feel to it.”

Front Run the Fed (Hip 647), a 5-year-old stakes winning son of Fed Biz, topped the sale when sold for $440,000 to George Sharp (video).

“I got tired of being outbid, and decided I was going to go to half a million on this one, because I want to go to the Breeders' Cup this year,” Sharp said. “I've got some nice 2-year-old fillies that I think I'll get there with, but this one is hopefully certainly going to get me there.

“We might race him once in Del Mar, almost certainly Kentucky Downs, and then the Breeders' Cup,” he continued.

ELiTE, agent consigned the five-year-old son of Fed Biz, who is a multiple graded stakes placed stakes winner with earnings of $392,150 to date. Front Run the Fed's current record stands at 4-4-2 in 13 career starts, including a win in the Better Talk Now Stakes at three and placings in the 2020 Grade 3 Runhappy Turf Sprint Stakes and 2021 G3 Poker Stakes behind Grade 1 winners Oleksandra (AUS) and Raging Bull (FR).

Recent Iowa Derby winner Stilleto Boy (Hip 557)  was the second-highest priced offering of the day, selling for $420,000 to Steve Moger (video).

Paramount Sales, agent consigned the 3-year-old Shackleford gelding, who has earned $249,675. Stilleto Boy has been in the money in all of his seven career starts, with a record of 2-2-2. Stilleto Boy is a half-brother to eight other winners out of 100-percent winner-producer Rosie's Ransom, including stakes winner Rosie My Rosie (Purge).

The top-priced filly was Josie (Hip 501) who got the sale off to a spectacular start when sold for $300,000 to KatieRich Farms as the first horse through the ring (video).

ELiTE, agent consigned the 4-year-old Race Day filly, who won the Iowa Distaff Stakes at Prairie Meadows on July 3 to increase earnings to $266,867. Josie has a record of 4-4-2 in 14 career starts, and is having a an excellent 2021, with three wins in four starts to date. Josie is one of seven winners out of the stakes winning Awesome Again mare Spirited Away, who has also produced Grade 2 winner/multiple graded stakes winner Prospective (Malibu Moon) and Malibu Cove (Malibu Moon), dam of Grade 2 winner/Grade 1 placed Kalypso.

In total, 79 horses of racing age sold for $5,905,500, up 16.4 percent from when 81 horses sold for $5,072,000 last year. The average rose 19.4 percent to $74,753 from $62,617 in 2020, while the median rose 66.7 percent to $50,000 from $30,000 last year. Fifteen horses sold for $100,000 or more, compared to 11 in 2020. The RNA rate fell to 24.8 percent. Full results are available online.

Jeweled Princess tops inaugural July Breeding Stock sale

Hip 448, Jeweled Princess, brought $225,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton July Breeding Stock Sale.

Jeweled Princess (Hip 448), a stakes winning daughter of Cairo Prince, topped the July Breeding Stock sale when sold for $225,000 to Stoneriggs Farm (video).

Gainesway consigned the 4-year-old filly, who was offered carrying her first foal, by Horse of the Year and current leading first-crop sire Gun Runner. Jeweled Princess is out of a Scat Daddy half-sister to current stakes winner Miss Brazil, from the immediate family of Horse of the Year Military Attack, two-time champion Gladiatorus, and Grade/Group 1 winners Al Bahathri, Haafhd, The Hangman.

Colonial Creed (Hip 434), a multiple graded stakes placed daughter of Jimmy Creed, took the top broodmare prospect spot when sold for $175,000 to Andre Lynch, agent. South Point Sales Agency consigned the 5-year-old mare, who is a twice graded stakes placed winner who earned $223,881. Colonial Creed is half-sister to multiple graded stakes placed stakes winner Mo d'Amour (Uncle Mo), from the immediate family of Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf victor Line of Duty (IRE).

The most expensive broodmare with a foal-at-foot was multiple stakes winner Too Much Prada (Hip 421), who sold for $150,000 to The Elkstone Group with her 2021 Violence filly. Stuart Morris, agent for Far From Over/Fountain of Youth Dispersal consigned the 8-year-old Too Much Bling mare, who is a full sister to stakes winner Prada's Bling. Too Much Prada has a 2-year-old filly by Violence, which has not started, and a yearling colt by Violence. Her 2021 Violence filly was bred in Kentucky by BTSK Breeding and Racing.

“In the grand scheme of things, it was encouraging,” Browning said of the inaugural July Breeding Stock sale, which was a late addition to the sales calendar. “People (sellers) that tried it with an open mind were pretty well rewarded.”

During the breeding stock session, 44 fillies and mares changed hands for $2,012,000, good for an average of $45,727 and a median of $31,000. The RNA rate was 13.7 percent. Full results are available online.

Selling resumes tomorrow at 10 a.m. with the return of The July Sale.

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Steve Moger was the winning bidder on the 3-year-old Shackleford gelding, placing just one bid over Fasig-Tipton's online platform to secure the horse. His brother, Ed Moger Jr. will train the horse.

“Del Mar has the 'Ship and Win' program, and I figured I'd give it a shot,” Steve Moger said. “He'll be going up against some nice horses out there, so we'll see what happens.”

Del Mar's “Ship and Win” program incentivizes horses that race at the Southern California track for the first time after previously running out of state with a $4,000 starter's bonus for their debut start. Eligible horses can also receive a 50 percent bonus on purse earnings throughout the remainder of the meet for starts on the dirt, and a 40 percent bonus for turf races.

Stilleto Boy came into the sale with a record of two wins in seven starts for earnings of $249,675, only missing the board once to date. He raced as a Kentucky homebred for John and Iveta Kerber, with trainer Doug Anderson joining a racing partnership that also included Michael Coleman and Aaron Kennedy.

The gelding has been based in the middle of the country throughout his career, racing once as a juvenile at Prairie Meadows in a runner-up effort. He was then moved to Oaklawn Park, where he finished third or better in a trio of maiden special weight races before graduating in his final start of the season at the track.

Stilleto Boy then returned to Prairie Meadows for the summer, where he finished fourth in the Prairie Mile Stakes on June 4.

That effort helped him leave the gate in the July 2 Iowa Derby at odds of 16-to-1, the highest price of the six-horse field. He led at every point of call in the 1 1/16-mile race, and drew off under jockey Jose Ortiz to win by 4 1/2 lengths.

Stilleto Boy is out of the winning Marquetry mare Rosie's Ransom, whose nine foals to race are all winners, including stakes winner Rosie My Rosie and Condo Closing.

Paramount Sales consigned Stilleto Boy, as agent.

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