Flashiest rallies wide to win four-horse blanket finish in Oceanside Stakes
DEL MAR, Calif. - Flashiest lived up to his name with a last-to-first win in Friday’s $103,500 Oceanside Stakes on the opening day of the Del Mar summer meeting, the gelding’s stakes debut and fourth career start.
Flashiest ($27.60) rallied wide through the final three furlongs, and showed a sharp kick through the final furlong, to win the one-mile turf race by a head over 6-1 Crew Dragon. No Foolery Here (39-1) finished third, a nose behind Crew Dragon. It was another neck back to front-running Hockey Dad in fourth.
Flashiest was ridden by Abel Cedillo who had his mount at the back of the field for the first three furlongs after a tardy start. Cedillo moved Flashiest off the inside and into a wide position on the backstretch. Midway through the race, Flashiest was closing on the leaders.
“The first turn I saved as much ground as I could,” Cedillo said. “At the half-mile pole, he was taking me there. I thought, I’m not going to win if I go inside.
Hockey Dad set a modest pace of 23.05 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 46.95 for a half-mile and led by a half-length with a furlong remaining. At that point, Flashiest trailed by about 3 1/2 lengths. Cedillo gave Flashiest a well-timed ride to reach the front at the ideal moment.
“He’s still learning,” Cedillo said of Flashiest.
Hockey Dad was followed by Whatmakessammyrun, Petruchio, Jungle Cry, Dream Shake, None Above the Law, Harbored Memories, Fighting Force, and Ingest.
Crew Dragon, in his first start for trainer John Sadler, led briefly in deep stretch, but could not sustain the advantage.
“When I made the lead, he started waiting,” jockey Umberto Rispoli said. “He ran a big race.”
No Foolery Here, a maiden race winner at Santa Anita on May 29 in his fourth start, closed with interest on the inside under jockey Geovanni Franco to just miss winning.
“He was flying at the end,” Franco said. “He needed a little bit of room. When he saw the hole, he made a nice kick, but he ran out of ground.”
Flashiest gave Cedillo and trainer Leonard Powell their first career wins in the Oceanside, which was restricted to 3-year-olds who have not won a first-place purse worth $50,000 in a stakes at a mile or over in 2021.
Flashiest was timed in 1:35.88 and earned $60,000 for owners Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, Nicolas Drion, and Powell’s wife, Mathilde. Flashiest earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 83.
Flashiest won his debut in a maiden special weight race at Turf Paradise on April 5 and won an allowance race/optional claimer at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on May 15 when eligible to be claimed for $100,000. At the time, Flashiest was owned by Drion and the Powells. Barber and Wachtel joined the ownership group after the May 15 race.
The Oceanside Stakes was Flashiest second race for the larger partnership, preceded by a second in an allowance race at 1 1/8 miles on turf on June 18.
By Mizzen Mast, Flashiest has won 3 of 4 starts and earned $120,102.