Golden Club stands out in first leg of all-turf pick three
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DEL MAR, Calif. – Bettors looking for a sure winner Thursday at Del Mar might heed the whimsical insight of trainer Craig Lewis.
Lewis trains Golden Club, a second-start 2-year-old who figures to win race 3, a turf sprint for Cal-bred maidens. Golden Club finished a promising second in his debut on dirt, and Lewis cited a tongue-in-cheek racetrack cliché regarding Golden Club’s chances to win on Thursday.
“He’ll win if he doesn’t get beat,” Lewis deadpanned.
Golden Club is not likely to get beat, though no favorite is safe this summer at Del Mar. Even after favorites went 6 for 10 on Sunday, the overall win rate for favorites is just 21 percent (23 for 107). It is a stark contrast to 2025, when summer-meet favorites won at a 43 percent clip (125 for 292).
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Week four of the 2026 summer meet begins Thursday with an eight-race card that includes split divisions of a turf sprint for 2-year-old Cal-bred maidens. Golden Club is expected to be heavily favored in race 3, while race 5 includes first-timers Midnight Buck and Can’tafford Not To.
The card also includes a pair of entry-level allowance races. Race 2 is a dirt mile for Cal-bred fillies and mares that Christel Clean could steal while stretching out. Race 7 is a 1 3/8-mile turf race in which Living Life, entered for the $50,000 optional claim tag, is the one to beat.
Race 3 is the first leg of the $3 all-turf pick three, a 15 percent takeout wager on the final three turf races. The sequence Thursday involves races 3, 5, and 7. Golden Club looms a borderline standout based on his promising runner-up debut.
Golden Club was well-backed at 4-1 and lost by 7 3/4 lengths in his July 18 debut.
“He ran into a buzz saw,” Lewis said, referring to runaway winner Net Par.
Golden Club’s jockey Antonio Fresu, saved his mount.
Fresu “said when he knew he wasn’t going to win, he didn’t pound him,” Lewis said. “I don’t want to get beat up to run second.”
Golden Club switches from dirt to turf on Thursday, which is a non-issue. Golden Club is by multi-surface stallion Clubhouse Ride.
“He should like grass with his pedigree,” Lewis said. “They run on anything. The good Clubhouse Rides, they just run.”
Race 5, the split of the Cal-bred maiden turf sprint, is wide open. Program favorite Missed Fortune is not a confirmed starter. Trainer George Papaprodromou suggested Missed Fortune could wait for a route to make his debut. First-time starters Midnight Buck, Can’tafford Not To, and Hal of a Day have worked well and merit a look in the second leg of the turf pick three.
Race 7, anchor leg of the all-turf pick three, is an entry-level allowance in which Living Life should be formidable returning to a class level at which he has already won twice. Ron Ellis trains Living Life, a distance specialist racing 1 3/8 miles for the first time. Three starts in allowance races at 1 1/4 miles have produced two wins and a second.
“I never get [races] that far. It’s always too short for him other than stakes, in which he is overmatched,” Ellis said.
Living Life finished sixth in his most recent start in the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano at 1 3/4 miles.
“I actually think it was finally too far for him,” Ellis said. “He made a move at the head of the lane, then he just kind of kept even – he didn’t sustain it,” Ellis said. “At a mile and a quarter, mile and a half, I think he can sustain it.”
Hector Berrios rides Living Life, whose rivals include Mythical Reel, Poor Connection, and Rimprotector.
Through the first 11 days of the meet, the median payoff – half higher, half lower – in the $3 all-turf pick three is $618.
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