Conclude (outside) and Maltese Falcon battle to the wire. (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Del Mar Press Release/Edited
DEL MAR, Calif.—The 3-year-old colt Conclude, owned by the partnership of Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables or Bret Jones, hung tough late to tally by a head Sunday at Del Mar in the 78th edition of the Caesars Sportsbook Del Mar Derby.
Hector Berrios the chestnut colt a well-timed ride and finished the nine furlongs on turf in 1:48.61 winning by a head.
Trainer Phil D’Amato saddled the winner who earned a first prize of $180,000 from the gross purse of $302,000 in the Grade II headliner for sophomores. The race is considered the championship event for 3-year-old males during the Del Mar meeting.
Finishing second was Red Baron’s Barn and Rancho Temescal’s Maltese Falcon, who closed stoutly through the lane to just miss. The Leonard Powell trainee was a length ahead of CYBT, McLean Racing Stables, Gevertz, Nentwig and Pagano’s Almendares.
Conclude, who had won the Opening Day Caesars Sportsbook Oceanside Stakes, won his third straight stakes race and fourth win overall and increased his bankroll to $359,600. He paid $4.20 to win as the 11-10 race favorite.
Bret Jones’ Kentucky homebred, Conclude is the son of Collected out of Proud Citizen mare Believe You Can.
Maltese Falcon was bred in Ireland by Sir Robert Ogden. He is sired by Caravaggio out of the Galileo (IRE) mare Isabella (IRE).
The stakes win was the fifth of the session for rider Berrios and the sixth for trainer D’Amato. Rider Berrios was winning his first Caesars Sportsbook Del Mar Derby and his ninth overall stakes at Del Mar. Trainer D’Amato was winning his second Caesars Sportsbook Del Mar Derby (Midnight Storm, 2014) and his 50th overall stakes at Del Mar.
FRACTIONS: :23.91, :47.40, 1:12.20, 1:36.68 with a final time of 1:48.61
HECTOR BERRIOS (Conclude, winner) – “I had a good trip, all the way. He was relaxed and that’s the best. Then when we turned for home, I said ‘Vamoose!’ And he really took off from there.”
PHIL D’AMATO (Conclude, winner) – “A masterful ride by Hector (Berrios), letting that other horse go and then making that move at the three-quarter pole to get him comfortable on the lead. He’s tough horse. The mile and an eighth is where he wants to be at. Anywhere in that mile to mile and an eighth range he’s going to be a top-class horse down the road.”
Racing will resume at Del Mar on Labor Day Monday with a first post at 1:30 p.m.
