Heywoods Beach back to what he does best in Tokyo City Cup

Heywoods Beach, eighth on turf in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap on Sept. 3, returns to main-track marathons in the Grade 3, $100,000 Tokyo City Cup at Santa Anita on Sunday.

After winning the Grade 3 Cougar II Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on dirt at Del Mar on July 24, Heywoods Beach was entered by trainer John Sadler and owner Hronis Racing in the Del Mar Handicap instead of the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on dirt the same day. Sadler and Hronis Racing won the Pacific Classic with the brilliant Flightline.

“If this was a normal year, he would have run in the Classic,” Sadler said of Heywoods Beach. “That wasn’t happening this year.”

Heywoods Beach faces familiar competition in a field of eight in the 1 1/2-mile Tokyo City Cup. His rivals include Tizamagician and Extra Hope, second and third in the Cougar II Stakes for trainer Richard Mandella.

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The loss in the Del Mar Handicap showed Sadler that Heywoods Beach is better suited to racing on dirt.

“He drew the outside and he didn’t get a very good turf trip,” Sadler said. “We know his best is long on dirt.”

In the Cougar II Stakes, Heywoods Beach stalked Tizamagician for the first 1 1/4 miles before taking the lead in early stretch. In the Tokyo City Cup, Tizamagician may be joined on the lead by Storm the Court, best known for winning the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita in an upset.

Trained by Peter Eurton, Storm the Court will race as far as 1 1/2 miles for the first time in the Tokyo City in an effort to end a 14-race losing streak since the BC Juvenile. Storm the Court was fourth in an allowance race at a mile on turf at Del Mar in his latest start on Aug. 21.

“We want to put him on the lead,” Eurton said earlier this month. “The only two races he’s won he was on the engine.”

Tizamagician is winless in five starts since winning the 2021 Cougar II Handicap. He won the Tokyo City Cup earlier that year by nine lengths. Tizamagician drew the rail for Sunday’s race, and while he is effective on the lead, the 5-year-old has won from a tracking position. Extra Hope, fifth behind Flightline in the Pacific Classic, can also be handy.

“He and Extra Hope both have speed and it depends on who breaks fast,” Mandella said of race tactics.

Avenue, the winner of an allowance race at 1 3/8 miles on turf on Aug. 5 at Del Mar, will start on dirt for the first time in the Tokyo City. Trained by Michael McCarthy, Avenue is a closer.

“The distance is no problem for him,” jockey Juan Hernandez said. “He loves to go long. We know he’s a turf horse. I worked him last week on dirt. He had a strong gallop-out.”

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