Chaulk O Lattey attempts Plan C in turf-mile feature
ARCADIA, Calif. – When rain forced the California Distaff Handicap from the hillside turf course to the main track at Santa Anita on Oct. 4, Chaulk O Lattey remained in the barn.
“I think she needs to stay on the grass,” trainer Richard Baltas said on Wednesday.
The alternative race is an optional claimer at a mile on turf Friday. The distance is longer than the California Distaff Handicap, and the competition is equally as tough.
After the missed start in the California Distaff, Chaulk O Lattey was entered in an optional-claiming race on turf Oct. 9 but did not draw into the field from the also-eligible list. Four other runners in Friday’s race also were withdrawn from the also-eligible list of that race – Causeway Carolyn, Gusto Dolce, Hug and a Kiss, and Rattataptap.
Five of the six runners have stakes experience. Gusto Dolce was a stakes winner in Uruguay in 2013, while Chaulk O Lattey, Hug and a Kiss, and Rattataptap have placed in stakes. Odisseia was ninth in the Sandringham Handicap at Royal Ascot before arriving in the United States last summer. Causeway Carolyn, a winner of two of her last three starts, has yet to run in a stakes.
“It’s a contentious field,” Baltas said. “I think anyone can win.”
KEY CONTENDERS
Chaulk O Lattey (Last 3 Beyers: 86-84-84)
◗ Chaulk O Lattey, who races near the front, was second in the Solana Beach Handicap for California-bred fillies and mares at a mile on turf at Del Mar on Aug. 16 in her most recent start. She has not been worse than third in six starts on turf for owners Nadine Anderson and the Little Red Feather partnership.
◗ Chaulk O Lattey won an optional claimer here in May and an allowance race at Del Mar in late July. Rafael Bejarano was aboard for those wins and has the mount Friday.
“She’s a grass filly, and this is a logical spot,” Baltas said. “There is some speed on the inside. She should be up close.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Chaulk O Lattey. Trainer Richard Baltas is 27-2-4-4 with a $0.67 ROI over the past two years in turf routes following a layoff of between 45 and 90 days. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Rattataptap (Last 3 Beyers: 80-87-88)
◗ Rattataptap is winless in six starts since taking an optional claimer here in January when trained by Jeff Bonde. Switched to trainer Phil D’Amato in the spring, Rattataptap was sixth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks on turf Aug. 15 and third in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes on dirt at Del Mar on Aug. 30.
“I think she’s one of those jack-of-all-trade fillies,” D’Amato said. “I think she’s better on the grass. I like the mile trip for her. She’s been knocking heads with the good fillies. This is a chance to get her some class relief.”
Her Emmynency, second in the Del Mar Oaks, won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland last Saturday. Stellar Wind, the winner of the Torrey Pines Stakes, is a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland on Oct. 30.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Rattataptap. Trainer Phil D’Amato is 27-7-2-2 with a $2.36 ROI going dirt to turf in routes. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan