Big John B tries to reverse owner’s sour August fortunes in Del Mar Handicap

DEL MAR, Calif. – Owner Michael House had a perfect first week at Del Mar this summer. Gabriel Charles won the $400,000 Eddie Read Stakes on July 18, and Big John B won the $100,000 Cougar II Handicap on July 24.

The start of August was not as kind.

On Aug. 8, Gabriel Charles was rushed to a local vet clinic due to a bout of colic that required surgery. The operation occurred a week before a scheduled trip to the Arlington Million in Chicago.

“We had our tickets and everything,” House said. “One day we wanted to win a million-dollar race, and the next day we wanted him to poop.”

Gabriel Charles’s condition has improved in recent days, but he will be out of action for months. Big John B can salvage August for House when he starts as a leading contender in Saturday’s $250,000 Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on turf.

A 6-year-old gelding, Big John B won the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap last year, the highlight of an 11-race campaign. House claimed Big John B for $50,000 at Keeneland in April 2014. The season ended with a ninth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita last November.

The same race at Keeneland on Oct. 31 is a goal. The winner of the Del Mar Handicap receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Turf.

Trained by Phil D’Amato, Big John B has won two of three starts this year. He began the season with a poor eighth-place finish in the Grade 3 Last Tycoon Stakes at Santa Anita in April but rebounded to win a starter handicap for former claimers at 1 1/4 miles on turf June 28. Big John B closed from last of five to win the Cougar II Handicap at 1 1/2 miles on dirt July 24.

There was a brief discussion regarding a start in Saturday’s $1 million Pacific Classic on dirt before the Del Mar Handicap was chosen.

“We just feel he might be a tad better on the grass,” House said. “This race has to be easier on him, I would think. He’s pretty special to us.”

Big John B is part of a Del Mar Handicap field that includes Ashleyluvssugar, who won two Grade 2 stakes on turf at Santa Anita in the spring, and Finnegans Wake, who has won four graded stakes on turf in the last year.

House said Gabriel Charles was transferred out of an intensive-care stall at a vet clinic in nearby Bonsall, Calif., on Tuesday but will stay at the facility for observation. Trainer Jeff Mullins said on Wednesday there is concern about an infection from the surgery.

There is hope that Gabriel Charles can return to racing in 2016.

“He’s off the critical list,” House said. “The vet seemed to think there was no permanent damage. He’ll need another 60 to 90 days before he can start training.”

The prognosis can be considered a victory in itself.