Ten 3-year-olds answered the call for Sunday’s headliner at Del Mar, the seventh edition of the Let It Ride Stakes. It goes as a mile on the turf and offers a $75,000 purse.
Following the Hollywood theme of the fall Bing Crosby Season, the race was named for the manic 1989 comedy starring Richard Dreyfuss as a sick gambler who gets a hot tip and goes on an amazing one-day run at the track (it was filmed at old Hialeah). It’s a good one to dial up if you’re stuck at home avoiding the virus.
Sunday’s turfer is headed by Margot’s Boy, a California-bred gelding by Clubhouse Ride who has won three races, and Heywoods Beach, a Kentucky-bred Speighstown colt who has a pair of wins on his ledger. Margot’s Boy is owned by Alfred Pais, trained by Craig Lewis and will be ridden by Tiago Pereira; he’s been listed at 3-1 on the morning line. Heywoods Beach is owned by Hronis Racing, trained by John Sadler and will be ridden by Umberto Rispoli; he was hung at 7-2.
Here’s the full field for the stakes from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:
A Venneri Racing or Lombardi’s Goalie (Juan Hernandez, 12-1); MyRacehorsecom or Spendthrift Farm’s Lane Way (Drayden Van Dyke, 4-1); Roadrunner Racing or Sayjay Racing’s Strongconstitution (Abel Cedillo, 4-1); Reddam Racing’s Rookie Mistake (Mario Gutierrez, 12-1); Heywoods Beach; Paula Capestro’s Dominant Soul (Edwin Maldonado, 8-1); Margot’s Boy; Coal Creek Farm’s I’m Leaving You (Victor Espinoza, 30-1); David Bernsen, Jacobs or Lambert’s Lure Him In (Tyler Baze, 12-1), and Doyle, Gonzalez or Gutierrez’s Jammers Justice (Eswan Flores, 15-1).
Margot’s Boy last raced October 18 at Santa Anita where was beaten a bit less than five lengths in the Grade II Twilight Derby. Prior to that he was second, beaten in a photo, in the Del Mar Derby on September 6. Trainer Lewis also conditioned the horse’s daddy, who was a hard-knocking stakes winner and has become a hot commodity on the California breeding scene.
Heywoods Beach last ran in the aforementioned Del Mar Derby where he finished 10th in the nine-furlong grass test. His two victories so far were both on grass and both at a mile which, obviously, may bode well for him in the Let It Ride.
Lane Way closed fast to finish second in his most recent outing, an allowance test at a mile on the turf at Santa Anita on September 27. He’s a colt by Into Mischief trained by Richard Mandella.
Strongconstitution, by the hot young Tapit sire Constitution, has finished on the board in all six of his lifetime starts. The $220,000 2-year-old purchase was stakes placed here last fall in the Bob Hope.
First post Sunday is at 12:30 p.m.
Press Release- Del Mar / Photo Credit: Benoit Photo
