Oceanside Stakes Highlights Large Opening Day Del Mar Card

Classical Cat (#3) wins the Eddie Logan Dec. 30, 2022, at Santa Anita (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)

By Ashley Tamulonis

It’s mid-July, which means two things: Summer at the Spa and racing Where the Surf Meets the Turf. This past weekend saw the opening of Saratoga, highlighted by first-time starter Becky’s Joker winning the G3 Schuylerville, Whitebeam (GB) upsetting stablemate In Italian (GB) in the G1 Diana, Casa Creed besting Annapolis in the G3 Kelso, and Yo Yo Candy turning the tables on Gold Sweep in the G3 Sanford.

This week racing returns to Southern California, and Del Mar has put together an enticing ten-race opening day card for Friday, July 21. With small fields being the norm rather than the exception, Del Mar attracted a whopping 124 entries, including also-eligibles, with the smallest field of the day the ten horse, $82,000 maiden special weight for three-year-olds and upward, a 6 ½-furlong event carded as the second race of the day.

Overall, the turf races brought in larger fields than the dirt races. Race three, an $82,000 one-mile turf event for maiden fillies and mares three years old and upwards drew 14; race six, an $83,000 five-furlong optional claimer for three-year-olds and upward drew 13; race eight, the Oceanside Stakes for three-year-olds drew 14; and race ten, an $84,000 1 1/8-mile optional claimer for three-year-olds and upwards drew 13.

Conversely, the six dirt races drew fields of 12 (race one, one mile claimer for three-year-olds and upward), 10 (race two, 6 ½-furlong $82,000 maiden special weight for three-year-olds and upward), 11 (race four, 6-furlong claimer for three-year-olds and upward), 14 (race five, 5-furlong $82,000 maiden special weight for California-bred or sired two-year-olds), 11 (race seven, one-mile starter allowance for three-year-olds and upward), and 12 (race nine, 6 ½-furlong optional claimer for three-year-olds and upward).

The feature of the day is race 8, the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes, a turf mile event for 3-year-olds. Its fourteen-horse field includes nine stakes winners or stakes-placed runners. The field itself is an eclectic mix of domestic and foreign runners, first-time turf starters, those trying turf again, and turf specialists.

Leading the field from the rail post is $100,000 Eddie Logan winner Classical Cat. A son of Mendelssohn, the Philip D’Amato trainee has not raced since notching that victory on December 30. Classical Cat debuted a winner on dirt but was a non-factor in the G1 Del Mar Futurity when finishing 7^th. D’Amato transferred the colt to the lawn for his next start, and Classical Cat responded with two straight victories at a mile on the turf, earning his two best Equibase speed figures in the process. The 111 he earned for the Eddie Logan win is also the best figure in the field. D’Amato succeeds at a strong 25% rate with runners off more than six months.

Philip D’Amato has another strong entrant in Conclude, the only other stakes winner in the field. Previously 4^th as the odds-on favorite in the $100,000 John Shear Stakes, the son of grade one winners Collected and Believe You Can took the $100,000 Desert Code Stakes by a nose in his second stakes attempt. He received a 101 Equibase speed figure for the determined effort. 

Also from the D’Amato barn is Ever a Rebel. The Bolt d’Oro colt was second on debut on the dirt and then third in the $150,000 Ontario Racing Stakes on the turf in his second start. He has raced on the dirt ever since, finally breaking his maiden two starts back in his fifth career race. D’Amato produces winners at a 22% rate with dirt-to-turf runners.

Mas Rapido (GB), Ah Jeez, Mr Fisk, Agency, Escape Artist, and Game Time are the other black-type runners in the field.

Trained by Robert B. Hess, Jr., Mas Rapido (GB) was second in the John Shear Stakes three starts back and was most recently fourth behind Conclude in the Desert Code Stakes. Hess, Jr. is just 4% in stakes races.

Ah Jeez has been in and out of the barn of Doug O’Neill and once again is under that trainer’s tutelage. As a juvenile, he was third in the $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes. He began his year with an allowance victory in the U.A.E. on the dirt but was then a badly beaten 13^th in the G2 UAE Derby. While with George Weaver, the colt was a close-up sixth in a blanket finish in the $225,000 William Walker Stakes. O’Neill takes the blinkers off for this start (15% winners).

Mr Fisk will be making his first career turf start for trainer Bob Baffert. In his last two starts, the son of the late Arrogate was sixth in the G2 San Felipe and second in the $100,000 Affirmed Stakes behind winner and G1 Haskell entrant Geaux Rocket Ride. Baffert gets just 6% winners with first-time turf starters.

Escape Artist has never been out of the trifecta for trainer Michael McCarthy in five career starts. Two starts back the Good Magic ridgling missed the win by just a half-length when finishing third in the $100,000 Singletary Stakes. In his last outing, he was a facile victor in an optional claimer despite stumbling a bit at the break.

Game Time debuted on the Del Mar dirt but was moved to the lawn by trainer John Sadler in his second start. He was a gallant second to Speed Boat Beach in the G3 Cecil B. DeMille in his fourth career start. He most recently won the $75,000 Alcatraz Stakes at Golden Gate Fields.

While most of the field will tote 120 lbs, Classical Cat will carry the high weight of 124 lbs. Escape Artist and Game Time were both assigned 122 lbs under the conditions of the race.

Post time for the Oceanside Stakes is 8:38 p.m. EDT.

1. Classical Cat (Mendelssohn—Conquest Strate Up, by Not Bourbon) U Rispoli, P D’Amato
2. Mas Rapido (GB) (Massaat (IRE)—High Speed (IRE), by Kodiac (GB)) E A Maldonado, R B Hess, Jr.
3. Zalamo (FR) (Seahenge—Zylpha (IRE), by Elusive City) M E Smith, L Powell
4. El Oro (FR) (Havana Gold (IRE)—Unnatural, by Proud Citizen) K Frey, L Barocio
5. Ah Jeez (Mendelssohn—Poetic, by Violence) T J Pereira, D F O’Neill
6. Mr Fisk (Arrogate—Plein Air (IRE), by Manduro (GER)) J Bravo, B Baffert
7. Agency (Bolt d’Oro—Queen of May, by Bernardini) A Cedillo, M Glatt
8. Kid Azteca (Sharp Azteca—No More Misery, by Midnight Lute) R A Vazquez, P Miller
9. Conclude (Collected—Believe You Can, by Proud Citizen) H I Berrios, P D’Amato
10. Escape Artist (Good Magic—Glory, by Tapit) K J Desormeaux, M W McCarthy
11. Panic Alarm (IRE) (Kuroshio (AUS)—Thraya Queen (GB), by Shamardal) A Espinoza, J W Sadler
12. Ever a Rebel (Bolt d’Oro—Money Madness, by Rahy) D Van Dyke, P D’Amato
13. Game Time (Not This Time—Confession, by Broken Vow) A Ayuso, J W Sadler
14. Ze’bul (Collected—Bahama Bound, by Empire Maker) D A Herrera, R Hanson