Edwards Going Left due for some luck in Cary Grant Stakes

DEL MAR, Calif. – If not for bad luck, Edwards Going Left and Jimmy Bouncer already might have won stakes for their current connections.

They get another shot Sunday at Del Mar in a deep race for California-bred sprinters. Seven of the 10 entered in the $100,000 Cary Grant Stakes are stakes winners; three others are stakes placed.

Pick the winner? Good luck, because the most accomplished horses in the field enter in murky form, including multiple stakes winners Solid Wager, Smokey Image, California Diamond, and Gold Rush Dancer. All four finished off the board last out.

The front-runners Prime Issue and Green With Eddie have a chance. However, they could get in each other’s way. Seven furlongs is a long race in which to go head and head.

Tribal Storm scored an opportunistic stretch-running upset last out in a Fresno stakes that fell apart, while Love My Bud trailed the field.

That leaves Edwards Going Left and Jimmy Bouncer, both due for good fortune in the Cary Grant, previously run at Hollywood Park as the On Trust Handicap.

Edwards Going Left turned out to be a shrewd claim by trainer John Sadler and Hronis Racing, but it took time. In his February debut, he finished sixth and was claimed for $50,000. Sadler ran him back for $30,000. He finished second, and was placed first via disqualification.

Edwards Going Left improved in subsequent starts, and entered the Real Good Deal Stakes in July at Del Mar. He never had a chance. Blocked inside, with nowhere to run, and under a hold the length of the lane, he finished third by two lengths.

That was the stakes he should have won.

Edwards Going Left, who won two allowance races afterward, gets his next stakes chance Sunday in the Cary Grant. From post 7, he projects for a good trip in the clear.

Jimmy Bouncer’s trouble was self-caused. Jimmy Bouncer was a stakes winner in 2016, but this spring he sank to first-level allowance optional $20,000 claiming company. He was claimed in three straight races, but each time the claim was voided when he did not pass the post-race veterinary exam.

In July, trainer Mike Pender tried again. This time, the $20,000 claim stuck. Following a fourth-place finish in a turf sprint, Jimmy Bouncer shipped to Fresno for the Harris Farms Stakes, the race he won in 2016.

Jimmy Bouncer pressed the pace, challenged for the lead, then lugged in severely through the stretch. His jockey had his hands full to prevent Jimmy Bouncer from interfering with his rival to the inside. The miscue may have cost Jimmy Bouncer the win.

If he keeps a straight path Sunday without lugging in, Jimmy Bouncer can win the Cary Grant. But if Edwards Going Left has a trouble-free trip, he is the most likely winner.