Catalina Cruiser will need best in Pat O'Brien

DEL MAR, Calif. – Perhaps the result of the Grade 2 sprint feature Saturday at Del Mar is a foregone conclusion, and betting against Catalina Cruiser in the Pat O’Brien Stakes is pure folly.

However, if Catalina Cruiser’s latest victory is accepted at face value, then the seven-furlong Pat O’Brien will be more than a one-horse coronation. At least, that is the hope for longshot bettors and the connections of Jalen Journey and Giant Expectations.

Seven entered the $200,000 Pat O’Brien, a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Catalina Cruiser won the Pat O’Brien at odds-on last year, but he faces questions this year following a recent route victory that was not up to his normal standards. Favored at 1-10 in the Grade 2 San Diego, Catalina Cruiser won by a length, fully extended.

Trainer John Sadler acknowledged Catalina Cruiser’s sixth win from seven starts was not his best performance. Sadler points to the Grade 2 True North on June 7 at Belmont Park, a comeback race that Catalina Cruiser won despite a compromising trip.

“That first race in New York took a little more out of him that I anticipated,” Sadler said. “That’s why he might have been a little flat that last race.”

Since then, Catalina Cruiser has worked super. A skeptic might wonder if the large 5-year-old might be struggling with the slow Del Mar surface this summer, but Sadler is confident he will return to top form Saturday while returning to one turn.

“He’s had a race over [the track], and he’s had three works over it since his last race,” Sadler said. “So he’s really had time to adjust to the surface.”

If he runs his best race, Catalina Cruiser will be tough to beat from the outside post under Flavien Prat. If he is vulnerable, then Jalen Journey and 2017 Pat O’Brien winner Giant Expectations have a shot. Multiple graded winner American Anthem, Lieutenant Dan, Chief Cicatriz, and Seven Trumpets are the others entered.

Jalen Journey might be worth backing in his second start since being sold. Purchased for $510,000 this summer at a horse of racing age sale, he was a short horse when he finished a creditable third in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby, his first start in California.

“I thought he ran very well, all things considered,” trainer Peter Miller said. “He missed a couple weeks shipping to the sale, he got shown 1,000 times at the sale, then shipped here.”

Jalen Journey raced three and four wide in the Bing Crosby, missed by less than three lengths, and has worked well since.

“He should run better this time,” Miller said, acknowledging favorite Catalina Cruiser. “If he’s not on his A-game and we are, then I think we have a big chance.”

Giant Expectations, notoriously slow from the gate, has trained exceptionally well after grabbing both quarters when he stumbled at the start of a May 27 stakes at Belmont in which he finished second.

“He’s doing really well,” trainer Peter Eurton said. “I’m confident he can beat these horses, even Catalina Cruiser.