Challenges abound in second half of Thursday card at Del Mar
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DEL MAR, Calif. – Thursday starts easy for Del Mar horseplayers – front-running favorite Kissed by Fire will likely be long gone in a maiden turf sprint that is the first race of the day.
It gets tougher after that, which is nice, because Kissed by Fire’s perceived dominance translates to corresponding low odds. Higher-odds options follow after Del Mar passes the midway point of the 31-day meet. Thursday is the 16th day. The second half of the season begins the second half of the Thursday card, which is challenging for both handicappers and horses.
Race 5 is a starter turf route in which top contender Zeyaraat must overcome a disadvantageous outside post. Race 6 is a sprint for older maidens, and Will Be will be tough if he reproduces the 82 Beyer Speed Figure from his runner-up debut. Early indications are the race Will Be exits was not as strong as the fig.
Race 7 is the “feature,” and Cool Papa G is training into the entry-level allowance turf sprint like he means business. However, he has not started in a year and a half and has never raced on turf. His rivals include Liberty Forever, Daniel’s Magic, and Rexford.
Kissed by Fire, the favorite in the opener, lost her comeback at even money, but trainer Peter Eurton was not exaggerating much to describe her performance as “awesome.” Kissed by Fire set the fastest turf-sprint fractions of the summer (21.68 seconds and 44.40) and got worn down to miss by a half-length.
“I don’t know if there’s much speed in there to go with her [Thursday], but she’s going into it pretty good,” Eurton said.
In fact, none of the others are as quick as Kissed by Fire, who is an improved filly this year at age 3 after undergoing a corrective throat procedure. Thursday’s turf sprint is her third start back and she should wire the field under Mike Smith.
The cleverly named Kissed by Fire (by Friesan Fire, produced by Kiss in the Forest) is likely to be the shortest-price turf-sprint winner of the meet. Diamonds Danzing paid $4.80 on Aug. 6. Other entrants Thursday include late-runner Make it Snow and second-start-back Christina’s Candy.
Meet-leading rider Juan Hernandez has his work cut out in race 5. Class dropper Zeyaraat is the best horse in the nonwinners-of-three starter allowance, but she drew post 9 of nine at 1 1/16 miles on turf. If she cannot overcome the draw, Pegs A. K. Girl and Rose Barton have a look.
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Will Be’s 82 Beyer is the top last-out figure in race 6, but four he defeated at Los Alamitos have run back back and all earned lower figures. Perhaps the race was not that strong. The comebacker Mixto faced top company last summer. Comebacker Bad Sneakers is a first-time gelding with solid works.
Race 7 is deep. Librado Barocio-trained Cool Papa G has worked well; Liberty Forever ran better than the line looks in his comeback; Daniel’s Magic will rally. The pace is likely to be contested by Liberty Forever, Mister Iceman, and Helladic.
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