Formidable Man relishes the Del Mar turf under Umberto Rispoli. (Benoit Photo)
Del Mar Press/Edited
DEL MAR, Calic.—Formidable Man has now run five times on the turf course at Del Mar. Every one of those efforts finished with him taking a trip to the winner’s circle.
The big colt by City of Light saved ground under regular rider Umberto Rispoli, dove to the inside turning for home and accelerated smartly through the lane to pull off a one-length tally in Sunday’s $250,500 Eddie Read Stakes at the seaside oval.
“It seems that when Michael (McCarthy) took the blinkers off, I think it’s a different horse. He’s a bit more tactical. You can ride him wherever you want,” said Rispoli.
The 4-year-old bay took down the Grade I Hollywood Derby at Del Mar last fall and also captured the Grade I Kilroe at Santa Anita his past March. Last summer at Del Mar he tallied in the Oceanside Stakes and the Grade II Del Mar Derby.
“He actually decided today to be closer to the pace with the 6 horse (Stay Hot). We didn’t want to be too far back like what happened last time. It was a little bit of my fault,” Rispoli explained.
“But look, I know that he has the speed, and I was waiting for the gap to open and he did the rest. He has made a huge improvement from (being a) two to (now) a four-year-old. He has become a really solid soldier. He’s a two-time Grade I winner. He loves this place. It’s just enjoyable to ride a horse like him.”
Finishing second in the Read was Kretz Racing’s pacesetter Cabo Spirit, who was a length and three quarters better than Burns Racing, Exline-Border Racing, Estate of Brereton C. Jones and William Dan Hudock’s Stay Hot.
Final time for the nine furlongs on the green was 1:48.55. As the odds-on favorite, the winner paid $3.60.
The race lost two of its solid contenders when 2023 winner Gold Phoenix and multiple-stakes winner Atitlan were withdrawn. Six horses total ran.
Owned by Mr. and Mrs. W.K. Warren, Jr. of Tulsa, Okla., Formidable Man’s $150,000 share of today’s purse pushed his bankroll to the just-shy-of-a-million territory at $985,425. Trainer Mike McCarthy has saddled him to score in seven of his 14 outings, with each of the victories coming on the turf.
The second win of the meet for rider Rispoli, he won his second in the Eddie Read (Johannes, 2024) and now has 37 stakes wins at Del Mar.
McCarthy scored his first of the meet and first in the Eddie Read with a total of 15 stakes wins at Del Mar.
“Yes, there was an anxious moment or two. I was hoping the leader was going to come off the fence a little bit. Umberto was able to sneak up inside there and once he was able to find his stride, he leveled off nicely,” said McCarthy.
“He loves Del Mar. I think he might be undefeated down here.”
Racing will pause at Del Mar now until Thursday when it resumes with a 2 p.m. first post.
