Epical taking a shot in Del Mar Derby

DEL MAR, Calif. – For the fourth time in as many races, Epical will have a different rider when the 3-year-old gelding runs in Sunday’s Grade 2 Del Mar Derby.

Tyler Baze will have the mount, trainer Jim Cassidy said on Wednesday, replacing an injured Victor Espinoza. Baze was aboard Epical for a five-furlong workout on turf in 1:03 on Aug. 23.

“Tyler got off of him and said, ‘The last time I had a horse work like that, I won the Del Mar Derby,” Cassidy said.

Baze won the 2014 Del Mar Derby on Midnight Storm.

Even though Epical will be a longshot, Cassidy believes the gelding belongs in the $300,000 race at 1 1/8 miles, led by the multiple stakes winner River Boyne.

“He wants to run all day,” Cassidy said. “I’ll be very disappointed if he doesn’t run well.”

Owned by Deron Pearson, Epical won a maiden race in his debut in January and was seventh in the El Camino Real Derby on the synthetic surface at Golden Gate Fields in February. Epical did not race again until June. He was sidelined with hind-end muscle soreness in late winter and was gelded in March.

Epical’s comeback was a bust – an 11th in an optional claimer at Santa Anita on June 9. By Uncle Mo, Epical rebounded to finish second in an optional claimer at 1 1/8 miles on turf July 19.