Enterprising can test new style in La Jolla Handicap
DEL MAR, Calif. – Enterprising’s supporters had good reason to wonder why the colt was last on the backstretch under jockey Mike Smith in the Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar on July 17. Enterprising had earned his first three wins, including two stakes, by racing near the front.
“Mike was on him, so you had confidence,” recalled Aimee Dollase, trainer Tom Proctor’s assistant.
Guiding Enterprising wide, Smith had the colt in eighth and closing well with a furlong remaining. The rally proved to be the difference when Enterprising won the one-mile Oceanside by a neck as the 5-2 favorite.
The price will be shorter when Enterprising starts in Saturday’s $150,000 La Jolla Handicap for 3-year-olds over 1 1/16 miles on turf.
There are six entrants in the La Jolla Handicap, the second turf race of the day on Saturday’s 10-race program. The course has not been used since July 31 following a series of injuries in the first two weeks of the meeting.
Enterprising races for breeder Glen Hill Farm. By Elusive Quality, Enterprising has won 4 of 8 starts and $244,650, the most wins and career earnings of any runner in the La Jolla.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Enterprising. Trainer Tom Proctor is 1 for 17 with a $0.70 ROI over the past five years at Del Mar in turf routes following a win.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Enterprising is one of two stakes winners in the field, along with Tonito M., a four-time stakes winner in Puerto Rico in 2013 and earlier this year. The field also includes Argyle Cut, who was caught by Enterprising in the final strides of the Oceanside, finishing second by a neck.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Argyle Cut. Trainer Billy Morey is 11 for 39 with a $2.40 ROI over the last five years in turf routes with horses making their third start following a layoff.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Key contenders
Enterprising (Last 3 Beyers: 92-86-89)
* All four of his wins have come at a mile. He was second by a half-length in the California Derby over 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta Footings synthetic track at Golden Gate Fields in January.
* Dollase said the late rally Enterprising showed in the Oceanside will help at longer distances.
“If he shows a kick like that, it will help him going farther,” Dollase said.
* Since a seventh-place finish in his debut over 5 1/2 furlongs last October, Enterprising has not been worse than third.
“He’s pretty consistent,” Dollase said. “He’s the same way training.”
Tonito M. (Last 3 Beyers: 85-79-83)
* The La Jolla will be the turf debut for Tonito M., a Kentucky-bred colt by Rock Hard Ten who has yet to win in the United States.
* Tonito M. worked five furlongs on turf in 1:02.40 on July 20.
“We want to try the grass,” trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said. “The work on the turf was good. I don’t think it was a fast work, but he got over it.”
* Tonito M. finished third in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby over 1 1/8 miles on dirt July 5, finishing 11 1/2 lengths behind the Hollendorfer-trained champion Shared Belief. Candy Boy was second and was the runner-up in the West Virginia Derby on Aug. 2.
“There are a lot of nice colts out there,” Hollendorfer said. “If you get beat by one of them, it doesn’t mean you don’t have a good horse.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Tonito M. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is winless in nine starts at Del Mar over the past five years with horses trying turf for the first time in route races.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Argyle Cut (Last 3 Beyers: 91-90-81)
* Argyle Cut led in the final furlong of the Oceanside and nearly scored his first stakes win.
* Trained by William E. Morey, Argyle Cut was second in the Singletary Stakes on turf at Santa Anita on June 21, his first start in Southern California.
* Argyle Cut has two wins in 10 starts, with the wins over a mile on turf at Golden Gate Fields.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 I'll Wrap it Up and No. 4 Sammy Mandeville. Trainer Doug O'Neill is 2 for 57 with a $0.51 ROI over the past five years in graded stakes turf routes.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan