Full Serrano wins going away in first race since Breeders' Cup
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DEL MAR, Calif. - Full Serrano, unraced since a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile last November, cruised away from three rivals to win an allowance race at a mile at Del Mar on Monday, the start of a brief campaign designed for a return to a Breeders’ Cup race on Nov. 1.
Full Serrano ($2.20) was urged to the lead from an outside post at the start by jockey Juan Hernandez and set a fair pace for the distance of 22.14 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 45.30 for a half-mile. Full Serrano led by 2 1/2 lengths with a quarter-mile remaining and won by 7 1/4 lengths, finishing in 1:35.11. Full Serrano earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 94.
“It went very well,” trainer John Sadler said. “We wanted to get him back and in good shape.”
American Admiral (17-1) finished second, a neck in front of 9-1 Packs a Wahlop. Two Rivers Over, winner of the Group 2 Godolphin Mile in Dubai in March 2024, finished fourth, beaten 28 lengths in his first start since a seventh-place finish in the Grade 1 California Crown at September at Santa Anita.
Il Bellator (39-1) unseated jockey Cristobal Herrera with three-eighths of a mile remaining after appearing to clip heels with Two Rivers Over. Il Bellator was caught by an outrider in the stretch, while Herrera was not injured. The jockey was taken to first aid and cleared to ride later in the day.
Full Serrano, a 6-year-old Argentine-bred horse by Full Mast, has won 7 of 17 starts and earned $846,423. Owned by Hronis Racing, Full Serrano is expected to start in the Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes, a $300,000 race at 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on Sept. 27.
The result of that race will determine whether Full Serrano is pointed for the BC Dirt Mile or the BC Classic at 1 1/4 miles.
“It will be a three-race campaign,” Sadler said. “The next race will tell us. Step one – good.”
Last year, Full Serrano was second in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles at Del Mar and was considered a candidate for the California Crown and BC Classic until he was briefly out of training with an illness. The California Crown has been renamed the Goodwood Stakes.
In the BC Dirt Mile, Full Serrano was dismissed at 13-1. He raced near the front throughout and won by 1 1/2 lengths. Last December, Full Serrano was taken out of training after he was diagnosed with an injury. He resumed workouts in early July.
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