Chancery Way adds more pace to rescheduled Solana Beach

The conditions of the rescheduled Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar on Friday are unchanged from the original race date last Sunday. The $150,000 race for California-bred fillies and mares will be run at a mile on turf.

But the field has changed significantly following the postponement of the race because of substantial rain that led to the cancellation of racing on Sunday.

The Solana Beach Stakes has grown from six runners to eight. One of the additional starters is Chancery Way, a shipper from Golden Gate Fields whose appearance will affect race strategy.

Chancery Way is quick, and from her inside post is expected to the set the pace. The field compiled for last Sunday did not have such a speedy runner.

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With Chancery Way in the field, prominent runners such as Ultimate Hy, Eddie’s New Dream, and Rose Maddox may be well-placed as stalkers.

“More speed might set up nicely for her than the previous” lineup, said Carla Gaines, who trains Ultimate Hy. “Maybe we can get her behind horses.”

Ultimate Hy, owned by Bob Abrams, Mitch Dutko, and Michael Paran, won an allowance race against open company at a mile on turf July 29 to end a 12-race losing streak since May 2021. Ultimate Hy was second in three consecutive allowance races from late April to early July before that win.

On Wednesday, Ultimate Hy was galloped and schooled in the gate. The 6-year-old mare is ready for a race on Friday, Gaines said.

“Oh my, was she eager,” Gaines said. “You prepare for a race, you want them there. She was there on Sunday. And now she’s double there.”

Ultimate Hy will be ridden for the first time by Hector Berrios, her fourth different rider in as many races. Umberto Rispoli, who was aboard for the win on July 29, is riding in Japan this week.

“I think Berrios will fit her well,” Gaines said. “She’s a light-mouthed filly. He’s got good hands.”

The Solana Beach Stakes is the seventh race on an eight-race program that begins at 3 p.m. Pacific, a half-hour earlier than recent Friday programs.

Chancery Way, Eddie’s New Dream, and Rose Maddox are stakes winners this year.

Eddie’s New Dream led throughout the Fran’s Valentine Stakes for statebred fillies and mares at a mile on turf at Santa Anita May 28, beating Rose Maddox by a half-length.

A winner of 7 of 25 starts, Eddie’s New Dream has since finished third and second in allowance races against open company on turf, losing the latter race at 1 1/8 miles by a nose July 23 after stalking the pace.

Rose Maddox can seemingly run on any surface. A tactical filly, Rose Maddox won stakes on turf and the synthetic main track at Golden Gate Fields earlier this year, and won on dirt at Santa Anita in 2022.

Rose Maddox was last of nine in the Grade 2 Great Lady M. Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs at Los Alamitos on July 4, stalking the pace before fading through the long stretch.

Chancery Way, trained by Jamey Thomas, was withdrawn from the Luther Burbank Stakes at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa, earlier this month. When the Solana Beach Stakes was delayed, Thomas had a new race goal.

Chancery Way has won 5 of 9 starts, with all the wins in Northern California. She has won at a mile on dirt and finished second and third in sprint stakes on turf. The Solana Beach Stakes will be her debut in a two-turn turf race.

“She’s run at mile twice and she’s run good twice,” Thomas said. “She’s showed she can handle the distance and the surface. Can she handle the distance” on turf?

In her last start, Chancery Way led throughout the Governor’s Cup Stakes for fillies and mares at six furlongs at Cal-Expo in Sacramento July 22.

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