Formidable Man, after Oceanside triumph, points to Del Mar Derby

DEL MAR, Calif. - The elements are in place for a successful start in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 1 for Formidable Man after his first stakes win in Saturday’s $103,000 Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on turf at Del Mar.

Formidable Man closed from ninth of 11 with a wide rally to win the Oceanside Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths in his first start at Del Mar since a win in a maiden race over the same course and distance in his debut last September.

In March, Formidable Man won an allowance race at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita, the same distance as the $300,000 Del Mar Derby.

“It’s nice to know he’s won at a mile and an eighth,” trainer Michael McCarthy said on Sunday morning.

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Formidable Man’s closing rally under jockey Umberto Rispoli was a minor surprise for McCarthy, who trains the colt for longtime clients William and Suzanne Warren. Formidable Man had raced as a stalker, and even led at times, in recent starts.

“I thought he’d be much closer to the pace,” McCarthy said. “It looked like he encountered a bit of trouble. Umberto was able to pull his way out. He finished well.”

The Oceanside Stakes is the first of three turf stakes for 3-year-olds at the Del Mar summer meeting, a series that includes the $100,000 La Jolla Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on Aug. 4.

McCarthy has Blue Eyed George or Endlessly as candidates for the La Jolla, a race expected to include Final Boss, the winner of the Cinema Stakes at Santa Anita in June.

Blue Eyed George, also rated as a hopeful for the Del Mar Derby, finished fourth in the Oceanside, two lengths behind Formidable Man.

Endlessly, a two-time stakes winner earlier this year and ninth in the Kentucky Derby on May 4, was last of five in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby at Aqueduct on July 6. He could make his next start in the Del Mar Derby.

What is more of a wildcard is whether McCarthy opts to send any of his 3-year-old turf milers to Kentucky Downs later this summer.

The western Kentucky track will run the Grade 3 Nashville Derby at 1 5/16 miles on turf on Aug. 31. The invitational race has a $2.5 million purse.

A race such as the Grade 1 Franklin-Simpson Stakes, a $2 million race for 3-year-olds at 6 1/2 furlongs at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 7, may be in the plans for We’re in Trouble, who was fifth in the Oceanside.

We’re in Trouble is considered more of a turf sprint prospect after his loss on Saturday, McCarthy said.

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