Race Within a Race at Del Mar Saturday in Smiling Tiger Stakes
DEL MAR, Calif. — The 53rd edition of the Grade II San Clemente Stakes – a key stepping stone to the Grade I Del Mar Oaks on August 22 – goes Saturday at Del Mar and has drawn a competitive field of eleven 3-year-old fillies for the one-mile test on the lawn.
The likely favorite in the $150,000 San Clemente is Gary Barber’s Laura’s Light, a bay daughter of the hot young sire Constitution who has won four of her six lifetime starts and comes into the turf off a tally in the Grade III Honeymoon Stakes at Santa Anita on May 30. That race was at nine furlongs on the grass and she held on to win by a neck under rider Abel Cedillo, who rides back Saturday for trainer Peter Miller.
Laura’s Light’s chief rivals appear to be a pair of stakes winners in Benjamin and Sally Warren’s Warren’s Showtime, who’ll be handled by regular rider Jorge Velez, and the Florida shipper Cheermeister, who is owned by Teresa and David Palmer and gets the saddle services of Victor Espinoza.
Warren’s Showtime, the lone California-bred in the field, is a daughter of Clubhouse Ride and runs out of the barn of conditioner Craig Lewis. She took the state-bred Melair Stakes at Santa Anita on the main track on June 21 in her most recent appearance. She’s won five of her 10 outings.
Cheermeister, who is by Bodemeister, won a pair of graded turf stakes at Gulfstream Park earlier this year and will be making her first start since May 15. Trainer Armando De La Cerda has guided the quick lassie to four victories in seven starts, all but one of them on the lawn. She has been training steadily in Florida since her last out.
The field for the San Clemente
Race 9, post time 6:00 p.m. PT, 9:00 p.m. ET
Post, horse, (sire), trainer, jockey, mlo
1. She’s So Special (Hard Spun) – Peter Miller – Flavien Prat – 5/1
2. Lazy Daisy (Paynter) – Doug O’Neill – Giovanni Franco – 20/1
3. Laura’s Light (Constitution) – Peter Miller – Abel Cedillo – 3-1
4. Over Attracted (Atreides) – Carla Gaines – Mike Smith – 15/1
5. Croughavouke (IRE) (Dandy Man {IRE}) – Jeff Mullins – Umberto Rispoli – 6/1
6. Cheermeister (Bodemeister) -Armando De La Cerda – Victor Espinoza – 6-1
7. Little Bird (IRE) (Free Eagle {IRE}) – Richard Baltas – Ruben Fuentes – 15/1
8. Mind Out (Tapit) – Simon Callahan – Brice Blanc – 15/1
9. Warren’s Showtime (Clubhouse Ride) – Craig Lewis – Jorge Velez – 7/2
10. Guitty (FR) (Dunkerque {FR}) – Leonard Powell – Juan Hernandez – 20/1
11. Applecross (IRE) (Sir Prancealot {IRE}) – Richard Baltas – Drayden Van Dyke – 12/1
Mucho Unusual Wins 2019 San Clemente Stakes
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Race Within a Race Saturday in Smiling Tiger at Del Mar
Five horses are scheduled to battle Saturday in the first running of the Smiling Tiger Stakes, but most of the focus in the six-panel dash for 3-year-olds will be on a pair of speedsters named Vertical Threat and Ragtime Blues.
The former, who carries the colors Slam Dunk Racing or MyRacehorse.com and trains out of the barn of Richard Baltas, won for fun on the lead at six furlongs at Los Alamitos last month and has been pegged an ever-so-slight favorite in the $65,000 overnight test at 6/5. Right behind him at 7/5 is SF Racing, Starlight Racing, et al’s Ragtime Blues, a double sprint winner already this year who comes out of the powerhouse barn of conditioner Bob Baffert.
The Smiling Tiger will go as the 2nd Race on Saturday’s 11-race card, which also features a pair of Grade II headliners in the $150,000 San Clemente Stakes and the $150,000 San Diego Handicap.
Joining the top two in the Smiling Tiger are Michael Feigenbaum’s Annie’s Boy, Del Secco DCS Racing’s Thanks Mr. Eidson and C T R Stables’ Howbeit.
Vertical Threat, a son of Tapiture, keeps his winning jock from his last trip in Heriberto Figueroa, while Ragtime Blues, a Union Rags offspring, retains the saddle services of Hall of Famer Mike Smith.
Smiling Tiger Stakes Field
Race 2, post time 2:30 p.m. PT, 5:30 p.m. ET
Post, horse, (sire), trainer, jockey, mlo
1. Annie’s Boy (Lotsa Mischief) -Jose Hernandez, Jr. – Edwin Maldonado – 12/1
2. Thanks Mr. Eidson (More Than Ready) – Jeff Bonde – Geovanni Franco, 7/2
3. Ragtime Blues (Union Rags) – Bob Baffert – Mike Smith – 7/5
4. Vertical Threat (Taliture) – Richard Baltas – Heriberto Figueroa – 6/5
5. Howbeit (Secret Circle) – Doug O’Neill – Abel Cedillo – 12/1
Frist post Saturday – and on all days at the current Del Mar meeting – will be 2 p.m.
Del Mar Entries for Saturday, July 25
https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/DMR072520USA-EQB.html
Edited Press Release
Photo: Laura’s Light. Credit. Benoit Photo
Vertical Threat. Credit: Benoit Photos
