Bailey must get his mare to relax

DEL MAR, Calif. - Nearly everything went wrong for Intercontinental in the Grade 1 John Mabee Handicap on July 23. She was rank early and encountered trouble on the second turn and in the stretch before finishing a close third to the upset winner, Amorama.

Revenge may come for Intercontinental in a lesser race on Saturday, the $200,000 Palomar Breeders' Cup Handicap over 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares at Del Mar.

and Intercontinental are part of a field of six that includes the stakes winners Katdogawn, Flip Flop, and Ticker Tape, as well as the stakes-placed Cotopaxi.

Intercontinental is the 122-pound topweight. Owned by Juddmonte Farms and trained by Bobby Frankel, Intercontinental has won 10 of 19 starts and more than $1.3 million. Her loss in the Mabee was a point of frustration for the stable, since she proved to be a handful for jockey Alex Solis.

"I hope she can relax a little bit," said Frankel's assistant trainer Humberto Ascanio. "She can be too aggressive in a race. She's not like that in the mornings."

will be ridden by Jerry Bailey, who has won 5 of 7 races aboard the 5-year-old mare, including the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes in 2004.

Solis is riding Flip Flop, a French stakes winner in 2004 who has won 2 of 3 starts since joining trainer Ben Cecil's stable.

Julio Canani trains Amorama and Cotopaxi. Amorama is unbeaten in two starts on the Del Mar turf course, having also won the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks in 2004.

was a game second in the restricted Osunitas Handicap here on Aug. 10, her U.S. stakes debut. She was stakes placed in France last year.

Katdogawn was second in the Grade 2 Palomar last year when trained by Jim Cassidy. She was transferred to Wally Dollase earlier this year, and has raced in the Midwest with Dollase's stable since the spring. Katdogawn was fourth in the Grade 3 Locust Grove Handicap at Churchill Downs on July 2.

Cassidy trains Ticker Tape, a two-time Grade 1 winner in 2004 who has struggled this year. Winless in four starts in 2005, Ticker Tape finished third in the Osunitas Handicap.

Cassidy is hoping Ticker Tape can make a wide rally similar to the ones that led to wins last year in the American Oaks and Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.

"The last three times she's been inside," Cassidy said. "I want her outside so she can make that move that she used to make."