Gina Romantica scoring the First Lady at Keeneland in October. (Courtney Snow/Past The Wire)
Dozen high-line fillies and mares race highlights meet closing Sunday
Del Mar Press
DEL MAR, Calif.—Twelve high-line fillies and mares will test their mettle Sunday at Del Mar in the Grade I Matriarch Stakes as the curtain comes down on the 11th Bing Crosby Season with a stakes triplesheader topped by the 44th edition of the $300,000 filly/mare headliner that brings the track’s popular Turf Festival to a stirring close.
In addition to the Matriarch, which goes as Race 7 on a nifty nine-race card, there also will be a pair of other black-type events up for grabs. Race 5 will see nine juveniles match up going eight furlongs on turf in the Cecil B. DeMille Stakes, preceded by nine older runners sprinting five furlongs in Race 3 on Jimmy Durante Turf Course in the Stormy Liberal Stakes.
The Matriarch, which will be contested for the 44th time, has a strong eastern lean to it with no fewer than 10 of the 12 starters having eastern connections. In particular, four of the distaffers – three 4-year-old fillies and one 5-year-old mare – have been sent west by multiple-Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown. The trainer, you see, has solid history with the race, having won six of its past seven runnings, including the last four in a row.
Not surprisingly, he’s got the likely horse to beat in this renewal in Peter Brant’s mare Gina Romantica, who’ll be making her Del Mar debut under top rider Jose Ortiz as the 8/5 morning line favorite.
The $100,000, Grade III Cecil B. DeMille will be headed by a most-promising maiden named Scipio for owners Nguyen or Tran running out of the barn of trainer Richard Baltas. The youngster has been to the post three times and run third twice and fourth once, with the last two solid efforts coming in stakes. He’ll be handled by top rider Flavien Prat.
Then the $100,000 Stormy Liberal will feature nine sprinters, topped by the Phil D’Amato-trained Unconquerable Keen, who races for CYBT, Aldabbagh or Nentwig. The 5-year-old gelding is a six-time winner, including a tally in this same turf race last year. Umberto Rispoli has the call.
First post, as always, will be 12:30 p.m.
