Dabster stretches for Los Alamitos Special

CYPRESS, Calif. – Dabster, the winner of the Harry Brubaker Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 22, will start in the longest race of his career in Sunday’s $100,000 Los Alamitos Special at 1 1/4 miles.

Trainer Bob Baffert indicated in a text message Thursday that Dabster will start in the newly created race, which is restricted to horses that have not won a stakes worth $50,000 or more to the winner at a mile or over. Baffert is in Kentucky this week at the Keeneland September yearling sale.

Earlier in the summer, Dabster was third behind Catalina Cruiser in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles. Catalina Cruiser later won the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes and is rated as one of the leading older horses in California.

The Los Alamitos Special has a projected field of seven. Aside from Dabster, the candidates include Divisor, Giant Influence, Indian Mantuana, Little Scotty, Twentytwentyvision, and Ya Gotta Wanna.

Ya Gotta Wanna, trained by Phil D’Amato, was second in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on turf on Aug. 18 in his stakes debut. The Los Alamitos Special will be his first start on dirt since a fourth in a $40,000 claimer for maidens at Del Mar last November.