Diverse but well-matched group in Native Diver

DEL MAR, Calif. – It’s still true a good horse can arrive from almost anywhere, a point illustrated by the eclectic field in the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes Saturday at Del Mar.

Two former claiming horses (Two Thirty-Five, Zestful), two homebreds (Leading Score, Extra Hope), and two costly yearling purchases (Midcourt, Roadster) compose an evenly matched field in the $100,000 stakes.

It’s also true a good horse can depart to almost anywhere, and two top locals will skip town rather than contest the Native Diver. Draft Pick and former local Major Cabbie target money and fame in the Grade 1, $600,000 Clark on Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs.

That leaves a field of six in the 1 1/8-mile Native Diver, including Roadster, the Santa Anita Derby winner who will stay home rather than run in the Clark, according to trainer Bob Baffert. Baffert also entered front-runner Leading Score, whose chance to wire the Native Diver depends on the pressure applied by fellow front-runner Zestful.

Leading Score “is a good horse, but he’s got to have the right pace,” Baffert said. “If he goes too fast, he’s going to get tired. But that’s the way he wants to run.”

A win by Leading Score would make him the sixth stakes winner produced by Shameful.

“She’s an amazing mare. Everything we backed her up to, she threw a runner,” Baffert said.

Shameful produced Grade 1-winning champion juvenile filly and female sprinter Indian Blessing, graded winner Roman Threat, and listed winners Maker Or Breaker, Nightly News, and Ax Man.

The 20-year-old Shameful has retired from her career as a Thoroughbred broodmare, and will become an embryo donor for Quarter Horses.

Leading Score, owned by breeders Hal and Patti Earnhardt, is one of two homebreds in the Native Diver. The other is Extra Hope, owned and bred by Samantha Siegel and stretching out after finishing third in the Damascus, a minor sprint stakes at Santa Anita on Nov. 2.

The Damascus runner-up was 3-year-old Roadster, who also stretches out to his preferred two-turn trip. Owned by Speedway Stable, Roadster, a $525,000 yearling purchase, has won three races and $746,200 from seven starts.

The other auction purchase is 4-year-old Midcourt, a $450,000 yearling owned by C R K Stable. Gelded prior to his Feb. 24 comeback, Midcourt has won three straight, including a listed stakes race last out.

The former claiming runners include Zestful, whose three starts since being claimed for $40,000 include two wins and a second. He has earned $118,000 for his new owners.

The horse to beat in the Native Diver is Two Thirty Five, runner-up to Midcourt last out. Trainer Richard Baltas claimed Two Thirty Five for $25,000 in January 2018, after which he stretched out and won four of 11 routes and earned $191,485.

“I thought he wanted to go long because of his pedigree,” Baltas explained.

Sired by Stay Thirsty and produced by a Giant’s Causeway mare, Two Thirty Five figures for an advantageous trip Saturday, positioned third behind the speed.