Catalina Cruiser doesn't exactly cruise in San Diego

DEL MAR, Calif. – The expectations were high for Catalina Cruiser in the San Diego Handicap on Saturday at Del Mar, so anything short of a 10-length victory in 1:42 for 1 1/16 miles was bound to underwhelm, and while he did prevail as the heavy favorite, his performance may have sealed his fate as to his campaign in coming months.

Catalina Cruiser is a brilliant racehorse, with looks to match. His win on Saturday in the Grade 2, $196,000 race was his sixth in seven starts, his third in as many starts at Del Mar, and his second in as many starts this year. Good stuff. But he turned in a workmanlike effort to defeat Mongolian Groom and two other rivals going 1 1/16 miles, equaling the farthest he has ever raced, and making a race like the Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles far from a slam dunk, especially when his connections have other options.

John Sadler, who trains Catalina Cruiser, and Kosta and Pete Hronis, who own him, faced a similar situation last year after Catalina Cruiser won the San Diego. They ended up running Accelerate in the Pacific Classic, and Catalina Cruiser in the seven-furlong Pat O’Brien, winning both. This year, their Pacific Classic candidates also include Gift Box, who already has won the Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles.

Those decisions can wait until next month. In the meantime, Sadler and the Hronis brothers can evaluate Catalina Cruiser’s race from Saturday, in which he beat Mongolian Groom by one length in 1:44.20 on the fast main track.

“When you’re 1-9,” Sadler said of Catalina Cruiser, who paid $2.20 for $2 to win, “there are a lot of questions about style points and time. The time was slow, but it’s not a really fast track. We’ll take our time to decide whether to go in the Classic or not. We’ve got options.”

Catalina Cruiser led every step of the way under Joel Rosario. He set moderate fractions of 24.52 seconds for a quarter, 48.94 seconds for a half, 1:13.04 for six furlongs, and 1:37.71 for one mile.

“Joel said he was going comfortable the whole way,” Sadler said. “No one was going to pass him.”

Draft Pick, close to Catalina Cruiser early, faded to finish third, 1 1/4 lengths behind Mongolian Groom and 4 1/2 lengths in front of Core Beliefs, who finished last. Dr. Dorr and Higher Power both were scratched, reducing the field to four and eliminating show wagering.

Catalina Cruiser had $187,446 of the $224,580 place pool bet on him. He returned $2.10 to place and caused a minus place pool of $23,649.

Catalina Cruiser, 5, is a chestnut son of Union Rags. He did not debut until late in his 3-year-old season, then was off for seven months before embarking on a 4-year-old campaign in which he went 3 for 4 and concluded with his lone loss, in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Churchill Downs.

He was given another lengthy rest following that race, and returned last month at Belmont Park, taking the True North going 6 1/2 furlongs. His $120,000 first prize on Saturday brought his bankroll to $571,100.