Del Mar: Four stakes highlight opening week; Journalism, Full Serrano among nominees
:quality(75))
The most anticipated race meet of the California season is almost here, with opening day of the Del Mar summer meet arriving on Friday, July 17. Nominations are out for the four opening-week stakes.
The opening-day Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds on turf is now the Oceanside Handicap, with a purse bump to $150,000 and no restrictions. The Grade 2 San Diego Handicap for older horses on July 18 is expected to draw Grade 1 winners Journalism and Full Serrano. The Grade 2 San Clemente for 3-year-old fillies on turf is July 18, while the $100,000 Wickerr Stakes for older turf horses is July 19.
Trainer Phil D’Amato will enter summer with his deepest stable yet.
“The most well-balanced, in terms of dirt, and turf, and all categories,” he said. “A little light with 2-year-olds early, but everywhere else I’m looking pretty good.”
D’Amato nominated runners to all four opening-week stakes, and many others will emerge as the meet unfolds. Stakes winners scheduled to run for D’Amato later in the meet include Thought Process, Gold Phoenix, Motorious, Kensington Lane, Almendares, and Maximum Bourbon.
Below is a mini-preview of the opening-week stakes.
July 17: $150,000 Oceanside Handicap, 3-year-olds, one mile, turf
Del Mar has revised its summer turf series for 3-year-olds. The track scrapped the midseason La Jolla Handicap, moved the Del Mar Derby from late August/early September to Aug. 23, and opened up the Oceanside. Previously a restricted stakes race, the Oceanside is now a handicap. Weights for the 20 nominees were to be released later Friday.
Bust Out is among the Oceanside favorites, based on his Cinema Stakes win two starts back at Santa Anita and a forgivable fourth-place finish last out in the American Derby at Churchill Downs. Michael McCarthy trains Bust Out and impressive maiden winner Tribalism.
D’Amato nominated five to the Oceanside: Del Mar horse-for-the-course Iriseach, sprint stakes winner Later Than Planned, Jordi Bear, Melismatic, and Savage Warden.
Mr. A. P., unraced since finishing second last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, has been “ready to run for two weeks,” trainer Vladimir Cerin said early this week.
Oceanside nominees also include stakes winners Pavlovian and Unrivaled Time, along with stakes-placed Proletariat and Secured Freedom.
:: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.
July 18: Grade 2 San Diego Handicap, 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/16 miles, dirt
Journalism and Full Serrano are the top nominees in the San Diego, a prep for the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Aug. 27.
Journalism, a three-time Grade 1 winner, finished third in the Grade 1 Met Mile last out at Saratoga. Journalism is trained by McCarthy. He is scheduled to work this weekend at Santa Anita.
Full Serrano won the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar in 2024. He has been working regularly for trainer John Sadler while preparing for his first start since a troubled fourth in the Grade 3 Oaklawn Mile on March 28. Sadler also nominated The Goat, a Group 1 winner in Chile who finished fourth in his U.S. debut.
The 15 nominees to the San Diego also include Bob Baffert-trained Mirahmadi and Privman. D’Amato nominated three: Grade 1 winner Stronghold, turf specialist Iron Man Cal, who has been working very well on dirt, and Cal-bred stakes winner Shea Brennan. Stronghold is under consideration for the Grade 1 Bing Crosby, a six-furlong sprint on July 25.
Favorites are 5 for 11 in the San Diego since Del Mar replaced its synthetic track with traditional dirt in 2015.
July 18: Grade 2 San Clemente Handicap, 3-year-old fillies, one mile, turf
Favorites won six of the last seven editions, but identifying this year’s San Clemente favorite is no easy task. Leading nominees are Bandiagara, sharp winner of the Penn Oaks in her U.S. debut for East Coast trainer Miguel Clement; stakes-placed Inbox, trained by D’Amato; and two-time Gulfstream Park stakes winner Spirit Doll, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr.
In addition to Inbox, D’Amato nominated Cortina d’Amprezzo, Peanutbutterbombe, and Struck By Her.
The San Clemente leads to the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks on Aug. 22. Regardless of the San Clemente result, the Oaks will be much tougher. Kensington Lane, the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks winner now trained by D’Amato, is targeting the Del Mar Oaks. European handicap winner Green Carrera reportedly is targeting the Oaks for her U.S. debut for trainer Leonard Powell, whose San Clemente nominees both have a look – Lookin At Diamond and Waiting for You.
July 19: $100,000 Wickerr Stakes, 3-year-olds and up, one mile, turf
A Grade 1 winner last year, King of Gosford is among the top nominees to the Wickerr. The race is restricted to nonwinners of a stakes of $50,000 other than statebred at a mile or over since Oct. 1. King of Gosford, trained by D’Amato, has not won since the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita in 2025.
Others nominated to the Wickerr are Richard Mandella-trained Grade 2 winner Atitlan, previously trained by the late John Shirreffs. First Peace won the 2024 Wickerr for trainer Mark Glatt, whose Freedom’s Not Free scored a recent comeback victory in the Grade 3 Daytona, a Santa Anita turf sprint. Twenty-two horses are nominated to the Wickerr.
Entries for the July 17 opening day card will be drawn on Saturday, July 11.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.