Hoist the Gold (Benoit Photo)
Stable Notes By Jim Charvat
DEL MAR, Calif.—A trio of invaders have shipped-in for today’s G1 Bing Crosby, adding some spice to an already contentious race. Sibelius will run for trainer Jeremiah O’Dwyer; Hoist the Gold for Dallas Stewart and Peaceful Waters for John Sadler.
Sibelius started the year with a win in the $75,000 Pelican Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, then flew overseas and captured the G1 Golden Shaheen on the Dubai World Cup undercard, beating the likes of Switzerland and Gunite. He returned stateside but ran a lackluster fourth in the G3 Aristides at Churchill Downs as Gunite turned the tables on him.
“He came out of the race a little jarred-up,” O’Dwyer says. “We put a line through that one. I don’t know if he didn’t love the track, or he bounced a little from Dubai. But he’s bouncing here in the morning and training great.”
He says New York was an option for the 5-year-old son of Not This Time and several factors came into play in their decision to come out west.
“To get away from Elite Power,” O’Dwyer jokes. “No, he travels really well and seems to get over most tracks really well. We had him training in Florida and the race has been on our horizon for a while since it’s a ‘Win and You’re In’ for the Breeders’ Cup.
“The owners are quite happy to come out here,” O’Dwyer continued. “It was either here or the Vanderbilt (at Saratoga). He’s a Grade One winner and we’re kind of keen to get him back at this level again.”
Hoist the Gold has shown flashes of brilliance in two of his last three races.
“He’s coming off a super race at Ellis Park and he had a second to Cody’s Wish,” Stewart says. “He’s shipped in great and he’s doing terrific.”
That runner-up finish to Cody’s Wish came in the G1 Churchill Downs on Derby Day. Hoist the Gold followed that with an eighth-place finish in the G1 Met Mile at Belmont Park, but bounced back with the allowance win at Ellis Park earlier this month. The Bing Crosby will be the 4-year-old son of Mineshaft’s eighth different track in his last eight races.
Like O’Dwyer with Sibelius, the decision to come to Del Mar came down to New York or California for Stewart.
“We were either going to Saratoga or looking at this,” Stewart says. “This is a ‘Win and You’re In.’ It’s a terrific race, a Grade One…a lot of money and this is where we wanted to be, take a shot.”
Stewart also brought out Hoist the Gold’s regular jockey, Brian Hernandez, Jr.
“He’s had success on the horse,” Stewart says. “He knows the horse and we’re happy to have him.”
Del Mar’s “Ship & Win” program also comes into play with these two horses since this will be their first race in California. They’ll receive the $5,000 bonus just for running, which will defray some of the shipping costs. There’s no purse supplement with a graded stakes race, however.
Unlike O’Dwyer, who is at Del Mar for the first time, Stewart has run horses here before.
“I won a little race called the Breeders’ Cup Distaff with Forever Unbridled (2017),” Stewart says.
A third horse is also shipping-in for the Bing Crosby. Peaceful Waters runs for trainer Sadler and the 4-year-old son of Dialed In is coming off of a second-level allowance win at Keeneland this spring.
The Bing Crosby is the 10th of 11 races Saturday at Del Mar. Approximate post time is 6:30 p.m.
