Del Mar notes: Charm the Maker rested for return

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Charm the Maker has had a steady diet of stakes racing since her win against maidens here in the summer of 2011, so the class relief she gets in Wednesday’s sixth race could prove beneficial.

Charm the Maker, freshened since February, returns in a second-level allowance and turns back to a six-furlong sprint on Polytrack, the distance and surface over which she won her debut two summers ago.

“She’s training well, sharp,” trainer Ron McAnally said at his barn Monday. “She’s been a couple of good three-quarters.”

Charm the Maker, 4, has not raced since February, owing to a minor foot problem, McAnally said. Charm the Maker won two of her first three starts and was second in the Hollywood Starlet, all at age 2, but she has not won a race since November 2011.

“I think she’s working as well as she’s ever worked,” McAnally said. “She’s more mature now.”

Joe Talamo has the mount. McAnally said he initially had penciled in Gary Stevens, but Stevens is off this week for a riding competition at Ascot in Great Britain.

Charm the Maker’s main rival, and the likely favorite, is Ismene, a multiple stakes winner for trainer Bill Spawr who was freshened following a second-place finish in the B. Thoughtful Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park in April.

◗ Greeley Awesome, set to run Saturday in the Grade 2, $150,000 La Jolla Handicap for 3-year-olds on turf, worked five furlongs in 1:00 on Monday on Polytrack for trainer John Sadler. Also expected for the La Jolla are Dice Flavor, Dry Summer, Pure Loyalty, Si Sage, and Uno Dos Adios, with Den’s Legacy, Freakin Rocket, Gervinho, and Rosengold also possible.

◗ Also working Monday was Obviously, who is preparing for the Grade 2, $200,000 Del Mar Mile on turf Aug. 25. He went six furlongs on the main track in 1:10.60 for trainer Mike Mitchell.