Inesperado doesn't care who's on his back

DEL MAR, Calif. - No matter which jockey rode Inesperado this summer, each one has wound up in the winner's circle.

After winning graded stakes with jockeys Kent Desormeaux and Eddie Delahoussaye, Inesperado was ridden to victory in Saturday's $300,000 by Corey Nakatani.

Sent off as the favorite, Inesperado rallied from the back of the field to catch pacesetter Rock Opera in the final furlong. Inesperado ($5.60) finished 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:47.49, setting a stakes record.

The win maintained Inesperado's perfect record since arriving from France earlier this year and left Nakatani impressed.

"I had a lot of horse left," Nakatani said. "I was impressed with the way he finished."

Inesperado was in sixth place for the first six furlongs, trailing Rock Opera, who set fractions of 23.34 and 46.24 seconds while being closely followed by Golden Arrow. Rock Opera was two lengths in front on the final turn, but a wide rally put Inesperado into contention.

Inesperado caught Rock Opera in the final furlong and won by a length over Johar, who rallied from last to finish a half-length in front of Rock Opera in the field of nine 3-year-olds.

Trained by Bobby Frankel for Charles Kenis, Inesperado has won 7 of 12 starts and $428,322.

* In the $75,075 Pirate's Bounty Handicap, Avanzado ($6.80) won his first stakes in the United States with a front-running score by three-quarters of a length over six furlongs.