Sorrento Sky closes late to take the Green Flash under Umberto Rispoli, Benoit Photo
Del Mar Press
The Irish gelding Sorrento Sky closed fastest and best of all late in the Grade II Green Flash Handicap and registered a one-length win in the $201,500 sprint on the Del Mar lawn Saturday at the shore oval.
Jockey Umberto Rispoli, who has a deservedly good reputation as a fine turf rider, gave his 5-year-old son of Prince of Lir a golden trip from far back, then had him rolling inside the eighth pole in the five furlong feature. He finished the trip in :56.12.
The winner is owned by a collection of ownerships led by Benowitz Family Trust and CYBT. He picked up a first-place prize of $120,000 to push his bankroll to $422,918 and paid $16.00 to his backers in the sun-splashed crowd.
Finishing second was another Irish runner, Andrew Farm et al’s No Nay Hudson, who had a half length on Sareen Family Trust’s Virat.
Anthony Fanticola’s Motorious, who had won this race the past three years, pulled in fourth this time around.
UMBERTO RISPOLI (Sorrento Sky, winner) – “It was little bit of a sacrifice with the draw, because I knew he could break really well and I had to take him all the way back to try to save some ground. Fortunately, it paid off. I was following the right horses around. He is a different horse since he got gelded. Today he really came down with a nice turn of foot and he ran them all down.”
ANTONIO FRESU (Motorious, fourth) – “When I put him out he didn’t show me the turn of foot he usually does. He’s getting older; we will see how he comes out of the race. I was a little bit surprised around the turn I was already off the bridle and it was a little bit too hard for him to do it today. When I put him outside like I usually do, he always comes with a burst at the end but not today.”
PHIL D’AMATO (Sorrento Sky, winner) – “I thought we were in a little trouble in the first quarter just being so far back. There was a lot of speed in there and Umberto (Rispoli) was able to cut the turn and pull out. He got a beautiful trip today and that was the difference. Umberto always believed in this horse. This was the way he always envisioned him running and it worked out.”
FRACTIONS: :22.39 :44.65 :56.12
This was stakes win No. 4 at the meet for rider Rispoli. He now has 50 stakes wins at Del Mar. It was stakes win No. 3 at the meet for trainer D’Amato and his 77th overall at Del Mar.
Rispoli now has two wins in the Green Flash. The other in 2020 with Chaos Theory.
D’Amato has won this race four years in a row (the last three with Motorious, who ran fourth today.)
The winning owners are CYBT (John Rochfort of San Jose), Gevertz or Nentwig, et al.
