Drink the Wind highly regarded coming into career debut

Drink the Wind has displayed enough ability in recent workouts for trainer Peter Miller to rate the 2-year-old as a contender for the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 6. The first objective, however, is a maiden special weight race at 5 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar on Sunday.

Drink the Wind, a More Than Ready ridgling owned by breeder Peachtree Stable, drew post 2 in a field of seven. Miller was left encouraged when Drink the Wind worked a half-mile in 46.20 seconds from the gate at Del Mar on Monday, a continuation of a series of promising workouts at the San Luis Rey Downs training center.

“We think he’s a very good colt,” Miller said. “He showed an awful lot of speed the other day and did it kind of wrapped up.

“He’s shown quite a bit of run in the morning at San Luis Rey. He’s bred to be a good horse. We’ve got high hopes.”

Drink the Wind is out of Crushed Velvet, who was third in the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita in 2014 for trainer Bob Baffert.

Sunday, Baffert has three runners in the maiden race – Carbonite, third in a similar race at Los Alamitos on June 27, and the first-time starters Barossa and Murray.

:: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports

Carbonite, the mount of Mike Smith, will be fitted with blinkers for the first time. Barossa, by Into Mischief, is out of the two-time stakes winner Bouquet Booth. Murray, by Street Sense, has worked quickly in the last month and will be ridden by Flavien Prat.