Del Mar Futurity a good fit for Finneus
The depth of trainer Walther Solis’s stable of California-bred 2-year-olds this summer is part of the reason Finneus will start in Monday’s Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity, the closing-day feature of the summer meeting.
Finneus could have run in Saturday’s $100,000 I’m Smokin Stakes for statebreds were it not for that Solis has Mr T’s Thirsty, Rock N Rye, and Thirsty Always in the field.
Finneus earned a spot in the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity with a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes on Aug. 7 behind Futurity hopeful Pappacap. The seven-furlong distance of the Del Mar Futurity and the closing style Finneus displayed in his first three starts were other reasons to start him in the Futurity instead of the six-furlong I’m Smokin.
“He’s definitely coming from off the pace,” Solis said. “That’s why I decided to go to the Futurity. He doesn’t have any speed at all.”
Finneus, who races for breeder Terry Lovingier, Amanda Navarro, and Naseer Fusihuddin, won a maiden race for statebreds at five furlongs in his second start, on June 13 at Santa Anita. By Stay Thirsty, Finneus was listed as sold for $200,000 to Fusihuddin at the Fasig-Tipton California yearling sale last October.
Finneus should have ample pace to follow in the Del Mar Futurity, which has a projected field of six. Aside from Pappacap, the other expected starters are the maiden race winners American Xperiment, trained by Steve Asmussen; Olympic Legend, who is trained by Luis Mendez; and Murray and Pinehurst, trained by Bob Baffert.