Beatrice changes strategy for Thoroughbred Owners of California Handicap
DEL MAR, Calif. – When the globe-trotting filly Beatrice showed up for last month’s Osunitas Stakes, she looked like a top contender and was bet accordingly, but she managed to beat just two of her 11 rivals.
She will try again Friday at Del Mar in the featured CTT and Thoroughbred Owners of California Handicap, a 1 3/8-mile grass race for older females with a name that takes almost as long to say as the race will to run. One thing will be different this time, though: Beatrice will not race close to the pace, according to trainer John Sadler.
“I think we had her up too close, and she hated the hard turf,” Sadler said. “She can get the trip no problem. We’re going to change her style.”
Beatrice was making her first start in more than 10 months in the Osunitas, run during the first weekend of the meet. Grass racing has been suspended twice since then to aerate and heavily water the course. The grass is not as short as it was the first part of the meet.
Beatrice certainly is capable of performing better than she displayed in the Osunitas. She won Group 3 races in Germany and Turkey before coming to the United States and also was a winner in France.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Beatrice. Trainer John Sadler is 5 for 16 with a $1.88 ROI over the past five years in the second start following a layoff in turf routes of 10 furlongs and up.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Charlie Em, the winner of the Possibly Perfect Handicap going 1 1/2 miles on June 26 at Santa Anita, and Topic, the defending race winner, are the other prominent members of the 10-horse field, which also includes the third-place Osunitas finisher, Rhagori.
The CTT and TOC is the sixth race on a seven-race card that begins at 4 p.m. Pacific.
Key contenders
Beatrice (Last Beyer: 70)
* Kent Desormeaux will be the one entrusted with getting her to relax. With a recent outing, she should not be as fresh and eager as she was in the Osunitas.
* The distance, though, is a concern. In her only try at 11 furlongs, Beatrice finished last of 12 in a Group 3 race in Germany.
Charlie Em (Last 3 Beyers: 83-80-76)
* Just got up to beat Customer Base in the Possibly Perfect, ending a 10-race losing streak.
* Charlie Em was considered for races like the Grade 2 John Mabee earlier in the meet, but the decision was made to await this race instead.
“She was nominated for a couple of other races, but they looked like tough spots,” said Paddy Gallagher, who trains Charlie Em. “This one is tough, too.”
Topic (Last 3 Beyers 91-80-89)
* Never has crossed the wire worse than third in three starts at this distance, though she was disqualified for interference from a second-place finish last time out in the Grade 3 Robert Dick Memorial at Delaware.
* She has absolutely no early speed, but she does possess an extended turn of foot, no better evidenced than in her powerful performance in last year’s CTT and TOC, when she roared past her rivals and scored a 3 1/4-length victory, earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 92.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Scarlet Strike. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is 4 for 50 with a $0.45 ROI over the past five years going from dirt to turf in routes on the Southern California circuit.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan