Free's preview: All-Polytrack card
Saturday, Aug. 2, preview
DEL MAR, Calif. – The temporary cancellation of turf racing at Del Mar means pure Polytrack for at least the next week. Track officials announced Friday that turf racing will not resume until Aug. 9 at the earliest.
The change affects three races Saturday that were scheduled for turf. It also lessens the appeal of the card, and the meet. Turf races historically account for 30 percent of the Del Mar program.
Now it’s time for a closer look at the all-Polytrack card.
OFF TURF, race 1
Race 1 favorite Ankeny Hill appeared formidable. The switch from turf to Polytrack does not hurt his chances in the five-furlong sprint, a second-level allowance. But if the field stays intact, he faces the same dilemma as he would have faced on turf.
Ankeny Hill is pure speed, breaking from the rail, with a quick run to the turn. However, two others have the same front-running style – Giant Ego and Pimpernel. If all three front-runners start, the pace could be severe.
Royal F J, a closer, was tempting before the switch. The problem is that Royal F J has tried synthetic four times and ran below par in each. Snowday is a European turf horse with a bullet work on Polytrack. He might be okay. Songa is the longest shot in the field at 15-1. He is not impossible in his first race in California for trainer Peter Miller.
OFF TURF, race 4
Penny Sixpence had a pace advantage going into the one-mile race for maiden fillies and mares. She looked like the lone speed. After the surface switch from turf to Polytrack and at least one scratch (Nightly), the pace advantage is more conspicuous.
Two starts on all-weather surfaces last fall in England were okay. Her U.S. debut was a creditable front-running effort in a race that produced four next-out winners. Penny Sixpence might make an uncontested lead. If she handles the footing, she could be gone. Want to take 5-2 on an “if-she-handles-footing” proposition? No, thanks.
It was a shallow race going in, made less attractive. The 8-5 program favorite is Loufoque, making her first start since October.
JUVENILE FILLIES, race 5
The shadow of Luminance and Tara’s Tango looms. Those fillies produced explosive debut victories July 20 and are expected to be the two favorites Aug. 30 in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante.
But the meet is young. The Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes for 2-year-old fillies will be run Wednesday, and perhaps a good one will emerge Saturday in race 5.
A full field entered the 5 1/2-furlong race; 5-2 program favorite Windy Forecast is stuck on the also-eligible list.
Call to Congrats is attractive at 6-1. She has worked well for trainer John Sadler; her sire, Congrats, gets 14 percent debut winners; and she was produced by a Grade 2-winning sprinter. She gets in light under apprentice Drayden Van Dyke. She should fire first out.
I Don’t Blame Me is fast and expected to set the pace. She finished second in her debut at Los Alamitos after dueling on blistering fractions.
If the favorite does not draw in, the new program favorite is Emmynency, a daughter of win-early stallion Successful Appeal trained by Mike Stidham.
OFF TURF, race 7
Benba was the “most probable winner” on the card before the surface switch. He might win the $16,000 claiming starter allowance at 1 1/8 miles. But again, the surface switch is an issue.
Benba has improved in four starts since joining trainer A.C. Avila. All four races, on turf, were highly rated. He is the 2-1 favorite as the “fastest” in the field. It remains unclear if he will be as effective on synthetic.
Fighter Squadron, 5-1, benefits from the surface switch. He was claimed opening week from a runner-up finish in a $16,000 claiming route. He ended up more than four clear of third. There are no questions about his surface preference. He loves Polytrack. His last was the best race of his career. The surface switch enhances the chances of Fighter Squadron.
GRADE 1 DUEL, race 8
Iotapa and Broken Sword might go at each other’s throats in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares.
Fiftyshadesofhay and Parranda will roll late. At 5-1 in the program, Parranda might be worth a stab. Parranda is a turf mare switching to Polytrack. A synthetic-surface upset by a grass specialist would be a fitting Grade 1 result on this grass-less weekend.