Free's preview: Going for the hat trick

DEL MAR, Calif. – The penultimate week of the 2014 Del Mar racing season begins Wednesday. Now is a good time for a brief look at three key races.

Race 3, Win machines

She’s Flush drew the rail in her attempt to accomplish an improbable feat – win for the third time in a single Del Mar season. It is not easy.

In each of the past four seasons, only one horse was able to pull off a Del Mar hat trick: Soi Phet (2013), Big Son of a Gun (2012), Clue Me In (2011) and Connagher (2010).

She’s Flush, a two-time winner here, faces a tall order in the sprint for $25,000 claiming fillies. She drew the rail Wednesday after winning twice from outside post positions. The rail, however, has produced a higher percentage of sprint winners than any post this meet.

The challenge for She’s Flush, a closer, is her style. The favorites are pressers in posts 6 and 7 – Faith Proof and Hanna No Sir. The pace could be tepid. It is possible Gary Sherlock-trained She’s Flush is sharp enough to overcome the flow, but the race is more likely to be dominated on the front end.

Five others this meet already have won twice, including Enterprising, who seeks his third win Aug. 31 in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby. Other two-time winners are Fable, Istanford, Sawyer’s Hill and When We Met.

Race 4, Slam dunks?

Looking for a single? This handicapper tabbed race-2 favorite Dr. Vincentstein, a pure speedball, as “most probable” winner on the card. A more conventional chalk pick would be Lucky J Lane in race 4.

The lightly raced Lucky J Lane came back firing July 18 in his first start of the year. He rallied to the lead at the eighth pole before being swallowed by the favorite. He finished nearly two lengths clear of third.

Lucky J Lane, trained by Richard Baltas, enters as an apparent standout in the California-bred maiden race at one mile. He worked four times since raced, meets a similar bunch, and has enough speed to be forwardly placed from the outside. The rails are at 30 feet.

Race 6, Led Zeppelin

The race-6 favorite Battle of Evermore is a sibling to Bern Identity, a Grade 2 sprint winner (2012 Sanford at Saratoga) who also won a mile race around two turns. But his best races were sprints. He won 4 of 8 and earned more than $250,000.

The question Wednesday is whether his 2-year-old half-brother will run long. Battle of Evermore is a second-time starter whose debut was a solid third racing six furlongs. A son of Scat Daddy trained by John Sadler, Battle of Evermore is the 5-2 favorite in the one-mile race for 2-year-old maidens.

Are second-time starters reliable stretching out from a single sprint? Of course they are not. Battle of Evermore is undeniably a potential winner, but his odds sure seem short.

As for the colt’s name, Battle of Evermore is one of greatest rock songs, recorded by Led Zeppelin. “Queen of Light took her bow, and then she turned to go …”