Formidable Man breaks his maiden on debut Sep. 10, 2023, at Del Mar (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Del Mar Stable Notes
DEL MAR, Calif.—The entry box for opening day at Del Mar was filled to the brim when entries were pulled Wednesday for Saturday’s card. Over a hundred horses were entered for the 11 race card (119 to be exact) and the interest was never more evident than in the two stakes races slated for Opening Day.
The traditional Opening Day feature, the $100,000 Caesars Sportsbook Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds going a mile on the turf, drew 11 horses, three from the barn of trainer Michael McCarthy
Formidable Man ships back to Southern California from Churchill Downs where he ran an impressive second to Trikari in the G2 American Turf on Kentucky Oaks Day.
“Very good run at Churchill,” McCarthy says. “A little rain a day or two before and the turf course seemed conducive to his style.”
But in his next race Formidable Man ran a disappointing sixth in the $275,000 Audubon.
“Ran him there again a month later (but he) just didn’t seem to handle it, didn’t like it. We gave him a little freshening. He likes it down here, he’s one-for-one.”
Formidable Man, a son of City of Light, broke his maiden on the turf course going a mile on closing day at Del Mar last September.
McCarthy also brings Blue Eyed George, who ran second to Final Boss in the $100,000 Cinema at Santa Anita last out.
“Horse probably wants a little bit farther than a mile,” McCarthy says, “but it looks like on paper that there will be plenty of pace to run into.”
McCarthy’s third runner, We’re in Trouble, is undefeated after two starts.
Trainer Phil D’Amato brings King of Gosford to the Oceanside. The English-bred is undefeated in three races since coming over to the D’Amato barn. He’ll be trying two turns for the first time.
“He’s always trained like a horse with some talent,” D’Amato says. “We just tried to figure out whether to run him long or short and just by the way the races came up from month to month we kept him short. But now was a perfect time to stretch him out and we’re going to see what happens.”
King of Gosford won the $100,000 John Shear Memorial in April down the hill at Santa Anita, beating Raging Torrent who went on to win the $175,000 Maxfield Overnight at Churchill Downs. King of Gosford followed with another victory, this time in the $100,000 Desert Code in May, also on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita.
Right behind ‘Gosford’ that day was All That Glory, one of two horses entered by trainer Tim Yakteen. The son of Goldencents stretched out to a mile in his next race and finished sixth in an entry level allowance at Santa Anita.
Yakteen’s other entry, Rothschild, hasn’t raced since missing by a neck in the G3 Cecil B. DeMille at Del Mar last fall.
Trainer John Sadler starts a pair of colts in the Oceanside. Scatify ran a distant second to Parenting in the $100,000 Affirmed at Santa Anita last month.
“A good second,” Sadler points out. “He was running against a horse that would have been two or three-to-one in the Haskell but he got sick and didn’t go. Nice thing about Scatify is that he’s shown himself to be very versatile.
The son of Justify has run second in his last three races but Sadler doesn’t buy into the ‘seconditis’ theory.
“No, the time he ran second on the grass he was a little unlucky,” Sadler says. “He should have won. He’s been running against good horses all along. This is a little class relief for him. He drew well and should be real competitive.”
Sadler’s other entry is Island Cruiser, who beat Scatify in a six furlong grass sprint at Santa Anita in May.
“There wasn’t a spot for him until we got here,” Sadler says of the son of Catalina Cruiser. “This fits him well. He’s an honest horse, right there every time. He’ll probably be up a little bit close to the pace.”
The 79th running of the Oceanside will go off as the seventh race on Saturday. Probable post is 5 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and morning line odds: All That Glory (Reylu Gutierrez, 10-1); Formidable Man (Umberto Rispoli, 9/2); King of Gosford (Antonio Fresu, 5/2); Guy Named Joe (Juan Hernandez, 5-1); Island Cruiser (Edwin Maldonado, 15-1); We’re in Trouble (Abel Cedillo, 10-1); Blue Eyed George (Jeremy Laprida, 20-1); Scatify (Hector Berrios, 8-1); Charge for Gold (Kyle Frey, 15-1); Rothschild (Kazushi Kimura, 12-1), and Simplexity (Victor Espinoza, 30-1).
