Enterprising comes into Oceanside Stakes fresh
Earlier this year, Enterprising showed he is capable of racing with the best 3-year-old turf horses in California. For the seven-week Del Mar meeting that begins Thursday, the colt could be a stable star for Glen Hill Farm and trainer Tom Proctor.
“I think he showed us what he is,” Proctor said Tuesday. “He’s a stakes horse. We keep him at that level and we’ll make a lot of money.”
The first chance arrives in Thursday’s $100,000 Oceanside Stakes, the featured race on the opening day of the 36-day race meeting. The Oceanside is run over a mile on turf and restricted to 3-year-olds who have not won a stakes worth $50,000 to the winner this year.
Enterprising earned $47,700 when he won the minor Pasadena Stakes at Santa Anita over a mile on turf March 22. Enterprising, by Elusive Quality, made one more start at that meeting, finishing third as the 6-5 favorite in the La Puente Stakes on April 19. He has not raced since.
“I gave him a little break,” Proctor said.
Aside from the Oceanside, races such as the $150,000 La Jolla Handicap on Aug. 9 and the $300,000 Del Mar Derby on Aug. 31 could figure in summertime plans for Enterprising.
Proctor said he will have a busy meeting but stopped short of making predictions.
“We’ve got a lot of runners,” he said. “Expectations ruin man and beast.”
The Oceanside drew a field of 13 and has a maximum field of 12 following a wintertime project to widen and resod the turf course. In past years, one-mile turf races had a maximum of 10 runners.
The Oceanside is the stakes debut for Texas Ryano, the sharp winner of an optional claimer over 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita on June 13. He is on the same career path as Enterprising.
“The big focus is the [Del Mar] Derby,” trainer Carla Gaines said. “We’ll try to win this as well.”
Gaines won a division of the Oceanside last year with Gervinho. She ranks Texas Ryano as an equally impressive prospect.
“He’s a little more seasoned now,” Gaines said. “Before, he was a big kid. He’s a lot more forward.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 10 Texas Ryano. Trainer Carla Gaines and jockey Joe Talamo have combined for 8 wins in 18 starts (with a $3.94 ROI) over the past five years with 3-year-olds in turf routes. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
:: Learn more about Formulator | Buy Formulator PPs
:: Follow the @DRFFormulator Twitter feed and get free Formulator facts
Aside from Enterprising, the Oceanside field has four other stakes winners – Aotearoa, Diamond Bachelor, Forever Juanito, and G. G. Ryder. Diamond Bachelor won the Oak Tree Juvenile Turf at Del Mar last September but is winless in five subsequent starts.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Diamond Bachelor. Trainer Patrick Biancone is 1 for 46 with a $0.42 ROI (and only 8 in the money) over the past five years when bringing horses back in route races after a layoff of between 61 and 180 days.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
The field has three runners who have placed in stakes – Argyle Cut, Home School, and Patriots Rule.
Patriots Rule was third in the Silky Sullivan Stakes over a mile on turf for California-breds at Golden Gate Fields on June 8.
“He’s nothing fancy to look at, but he’s a good-feeling horse, always bucking and squealing,” trainer Robertino Diodoro said.
At the least, Diodoro expects jockey Fernando Perez to be sharper for the Oceanside than he was in the Silky Sullivan. In the post parade before that race, Diodoro said Patriots Rule threw his head back and struck Perez in the head.
“He decided to ride,” Diodoro said of Perez.
Patriots Rule was beaten a neck, a performance that could make him competitive Thursday.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 11 Yard Line. In the past five years, trainer Eoin Harty has not successfully moved a horse to the turf for the first time off of a winning effort (0 for 4 with only one in the money). Click for more details. – Mike Hogan