Split divisions of the Oceanside Stakes and a 10-race card with 98 entries await racing fans July 17 as Del Mar kicks off its 74th summer season in northern San Diego County.
The entries include seven horses placed on also eligible lists for the opening-day program, including two in the Oceanside divisions. The two one-mile turf events for 3-year-olds will each have full fields of 10.
Del Mar will run 37 days in 2013 on a Wednesday through Sunday schedule with one additional card for Labor Day, Sept. 2.
The track will offer the same betting menu as last year, including Pick Six guaranteed pools of $125,000 for weekdays and $250,000 on weekends for the day's final six races. As it has for the past two years, Del Mar will also kick in a $50,000 bonus to Pick Six winners on Sundays. The track is guaranteeing its 50-cent Pick Four pool on the day's final four races as well, amounting to $250,000 on weekdays and $500,000 on weekends. A 50-cent "Players Pick Five" on the opening five races each day carries a reduced 14% takeout rate.
First post on opening day is 2:05 p.m. PDT. The oversubscribed Oceanside, restricted to non-winners of a stakes of $50,000 in 2013, is being split into divisions for the 30th time in track history. In the first division, race 6 with a 4:40 p.m. scheduled post, stakes winner Gervinho is the 123-pound highweight. The second division, race 9 with a 6:10 p.m. scheduled post, features the return of graded winner Den's Legacy to the grass for trainer Bob Baffert.
The Hall of Fame conditioner won a division of the Oceanside last year for the first time with Midnight Crooner. In addition to Den's Legacy, Baffert entered Manando in the first division.
Before embarking on the Triple Crown trail this spring, Den's Legacy won the one-mile Generous Stakes (gr. IIIT) on the Betfair Hollywood Park turf last November. He has not won in six starts since then in spite of stakes placings in the CashCall Futurity (gr. I), Sham (gr. III), Robert B. Lewis (gr. II), Rebel (gr. II), and Affirmed Handicap (gr. III).
Westrock Stables' son of Medaglia d'Oro also had two stakes placings on grass prior to the Generous. Joel Rosario, visiting Southern California, will be aboard Den's Legacy, who breaks from post 4 while packing 123 pounds.
The stronger second division also includes William Currin's homebred Rosengold, the odds-on winner of the Tsunami Slew Stakes for 3-year-olds June 23 on the Hollywood Park lawn. The speedy son of Stormello enjoyed an eight-length advantage midway through the one-mile test but was all out to hold off Pure Loyalty by a neck. Martin Garcia has the return call on Rosengold, who is three-for-three on turf for trainer Julio Canani.
Robert Norman's Pure Loyalty is in the same division of the Oceanside. The Florida-bred son of Simon Pure has just a maiden win to show from eight starts, that coming April 7 on the Santa Anita turf. But the bay colt, to be ridden again by Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, also has four seconds and two thirds.
Gabriel Charles, winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Stakes Preview last November on the Santa Anita hillside course, is set to make his first start since finishing second in the one-mile Eddie Logan Stakes Dec. 29. Jeff Mullins trains the son of Street Hero , to be ridden by Victor Espinoza, for Sam Britt and Michael House.
Also returning from a layoff is Hronis Racing's Great Britain-bred Rising Legend, who has not raced since finishing a hard-closing second to Den's Legacy in the Generous in his United States debut. John Sadler, fresh off his title as the leading trainer at the Hollywood Park spring/summer meet, conditions the son of Rock of Gibralter. Rising Legend had two wins, two seconds, and two thirds from six starts in England, where he was trained by Richard Hannon.
Others of note are French-bred Si Sage, making his U.S. debut for trainer Darrell Vienna after running second by a nose in a stakes at Longchamp May 8; Joelito, fourth in the American Turf (gr. IIT) at Churchill Downs May 3 and most recently an allowance winner at Hollywood at the Oceanside distance for Sadler; and Tsunami Slew third-place finisher Olympic Blue, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer.
In the opening division, Carla Gaines sends out Gervinho for owner Keith Brackpool. The son of Unusual Heat won the Zuma Beach last fall at Santa Anita prior to running fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IT). In his only start this year, Gervinho was second in the one-mile Silky Sullivan Stakes for state-breds at Golden Gate Fields June 9.
Undrafted, a 10-length grass allowance winner at Churchill Downs going one mile June 20, will be ridden by Rosario. Wesley Ward trains the Purim gelding for Denver Broncos star wide receiver Wes Welker. Undrafted is two-for-two on turf.
The speedster Manando makes his turf debut for Baffert after fading to fifth in the Iowa Derby (gr. III) June 29 at Prairie Meadows. Kaleem Shah's son of Bluegrass Cat is looking for his first stakes victory.
Mercedes Stable's Freakin Rocket also makes his turf and stakes debut after winning the first two starts of his career on the Hollywood Cushion Track by a combined 15 1/4 lengths for trainer Tim Yakteen.
$100,000 Oceanside Stakes (1st Division, Race 6, 4:40 p.m.), 3YOs, 1 Mile (Turf)
PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer
1. Know More (KY), M Gutierrez, 119, D F O'Neill
2. Gervinho (CA), R Bejarano, 123, C Gaines
3. Examen (KY), G K Gomez, 121, T F Proctor
4. Greeley Awesome (KY), J R Leparoux, 119, J W Sadler
5. Undrafted (KY), J Rosario, 121, W A Ward
6. Freakin Rocket (KY), M E Smith, 119, T Yakteen
7. Tebows Big Play (CA), G L Stevens, 117, J Hollendorfer
8. Manando (KY), M Garcia, 121, B Baffert
9. Unfettered (FL), E P Gomez, 119, H Dominguez
10. On the Fence (CA), J Talamo, 117, J M Fanning
Also Eligible
11. One Firm Cat (FL), E A Maldonado, 117, C Dollase
Oceanside Stakes (2nd Division, Race 9, 6:10 p.m.)
PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer
1. Saint Prado (KY), C S Nakatani, 119, J Bonde
2. Gabriel Charles (KY), V Espinoza, 119, J Mullins
3. Pure Loyalty (FL), G L Stevens, 117, M Glatt
4. Den's Legacy (FL), J Rosario, 123, B Baffert
5. Show Some Magic (KY), E A Maldonado, 123, P Miller
6. Si Sage (FR), R Bejarano, 119, D Vienna
7. Joelito (KY), J Talamo, 121, J W Sadler
8. Olympic Blue (CA), G K Gomez, 119, J Hollendorfer
9. Rosengold (KY), M Garcia, 121, J C Canani
10. Rising Legend (GB), J R Leparoux, 117, J W Sadler
Also Eligible
11. R S Watson (KY), V Espinoza, 117, A Kitchingman
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