Iron Man Cal wins Zuma Stakes via DQ, caps big weekend for D'Amato

ARCADIA, Calif. – Second across the wire and first in the winner’s circle, the colt Iron Man Cal ($4.60 favorite) gave trainer Phil D’Amato and owner Little Red Feather Racing a sweep of the turf mile stakes for 2-year-olds on Sunday at Santa Anita.

Iron Man Cal finished a head behind Artislas in the $101,500 Zuma Beach Stakes, but stewards disqualified Artislas and placed him third for causing interference in the stretch. Artislas drifted out several lanes, interfering with Iron Man Cal and third-place finisher Sabertooth, who was moved to second.

“A win’s a win,” D’Amato said after a brief conversation with Iron Man Cal’s jockey Antonio Fresu, who, D’Amato said “almost got bounced out of the saddle” in the stretch.

The win by Iron Man Cal followed a victory earlier Sunday by the filly Thought Process in the Surfer Girl Stakes. The filly won by 4 1/2 lengths; Iron Man Cal was second over the wire in the Zuma Beach. The final time was 1:34.45, compared to a quicker 1:34.34 in the Surfer Girl.

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D’Amato said Iron Man Cal “was kind of like the male version of Thought Process” comparing their development. Both lost sprints first out, won turf routes second out, and stakes third out. Thought Process has won three straight. Iron Man Cal was winning his second straight. Both were sired by Collected.

Iron Man Cal “has shown improvement, and he needed to show improvement to win a race like this against winners,” D’Amato said. “Hopefully, it’s enough to get him into the Breeders’ Cup.”

Ivan the Great set fast fractions in the Zuma Beach, an opening half in 46.59 and six furlongs in 1:10.66. Iron Man Cal pressed the pace, while Artislas was tucked third on the rail. They stayed that way to the top of the stretch, where Artislas cut the corner to challenge for the lead inside while Iron Man Cal swept three-wide. Sabertooth came outside both.

Then misfortune arrived for Artislas and jockey Reylu Gutierrez. Artislas drifted out several lanes, interfering with the runner-up and third-place finisher. It was an easy and correct call to disqualify Artislas and place him third.

The Zuma Beach was the fourth stakes win of the weekend for D’Amato. Saturday, he won the Grade 3 Chillingworth with One More Philly, and the Grade 2 Rodeo Drive Stakes with Hang the Moon. “It was a great weekend,” D’Amato said, adding, “We will keep it rolling.”

The next question facing Iron Man Cal is where he fits in the Grade 1 BC Juvenile Turf.

Since the first Zuma Beach was run in 2012, every winner ran back in the BC Juvenile Turf. Two finished in the money. MacKinnon finished third in the BC in 2021. Luck of the Kitten finished second in 2014.

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