Distance not a concern for comebacking Truly Quality
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DEL MAR, Calif. – A turf marathon at 1 3/8 miles may seem a difficult place for a comeback after a layoff of nearly seven months. But for the 5-year-old Truly Quality the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap at that distance on Saturday is an ideal way to resume a career that includes three stakes wins at longer distances on grass, trainer Jonathan Thomas said over the weekend.
“I’m more comfortable running him long off a layoff than short,” Thomas said. “A mile and three-eighths is the shortest he wants to run.”
The $300,000 Del Mar Handicap will be the first start for Truly Quality since he finished sixth of seven in the Grade 3 San Marcos Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita in February. Following the loss, Thomas sent Truly Quality to Florida for a vacation. Truly Quality resumed workouts at Santa Anita in mid-June.
“He’s had an uninterrupted training schedule,” Thomas said. “He’s had some good works.”
Thomas said he was particularly enthused by Truly Quality’s five-furlong workout on turf in 1:00.80 on Aug. 17.
The Del Mar Handicap is expected to have a familiar field that includes the graded stakes winners Atitlan, Balnikhov, Endlessly, Gold Phoenix, Nitti, and Stay Hot. Gold Phoenix has won the race the last three years, and will be seeking an unprecedented fourth victory.
The race has ramifications for the fall, with the winner receiving a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at 1 1/2 miles here on Nov. 1.
The BC Turf will have a much tougher field, complete with international runners and representatives from across the United States. Gold Phoenix has finished fourth as a longshot in the last two runnings of the BC Turf, at Santa Anita in 2023 and here last November.
Truly Quality, bred and owned by George Strawbridge Jr.’s Augustin Stable, won three consecutive stakes at Colonial Downs, Woodbine, and Del Mar from late September to late November last year at distances ranging from 1 3/8 miles to 1 1/2 miles.
A win in the Del Mar Handicap would force an assessment of whether Truly Quality belongs in a lofty race such as the BC Turf, or whether the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup later in November is more appropriate. Truly Quality won the 2024 Hollywood Turf Cup
“It’s tough thinking that far out,” Thomas said.
Aside from Truly Quality, the stable plans to run Geometry in Sunday’s Grade 2 Del Mar Derby at 1 1/8 miles. Owned by Augustin Stable, Geometry won his 2025 debut in an allowance race at a mile on turf at Del Mar on Aug. 10, closing from third in a field of four. Geometry worked a half-mile in 48.60 seconds on Saturday.
“He had a fantastic work,” Thomas said. “We like what we’re seeing from him.”
Through Sunday, Thomas had one win from 13 starters at the current Del Mar meeting, with seven second- and third-place finishes. A stakes win on Labor Day weekend would provide a late summer boost.
“Even though we haven’t had the wins, the horses are running,” Thomas said. “If we can take down one of these, it will make it better.”
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