Long Hot Summer needs best stuff in Daisycutter
DEL MAR, Calif. – A return to a turf sprint should be just what Long Hot Summer needs to return to her best form, and she’ll need to be at her very best on Friday at Del Mar in the $75,000 Daisycutter Handicap, a five-furlong grass race for fillies and mares that drew a particularly strong field, including last year’s winner, Shrinking Violet.
Long Hot Summer has never sprinted on the turf at Del Mar, but in three tries down Santa Anita’s hillside turf course, she owns two wins and a second, with her most-recent win coming against males in a second-level allowance May 30. She faded going a mile in her last start and now cuts back.
“She ran well down the hill and showed tactical speed, so we thought this would be a good spot,” said Phil D’Amato, who trains Long Hot Summer. “She has been into it going 6 1/2 furlongs, right there. For sure, she’ll have to come off the pace in this race, but these races are all about the trip.”
Indeed, five-furlong turf sprints at Del Mar are quite challenging to handicap, and the Daisycutter is no exception. Course specialists like Shrinking Violet and Desert Steel should be formidable in their return to this circuit, and Cindy’s Secret and Home Journey are each coming off a good effort here during the first week of the meet.
Eleven were entered in the Daisycutter, but only nine can run since the rails are to be set at 18 feet. The Daisycutter goes as race 7 on an eight-race card that begins at 4 p.m. Pacific.
KEY CONTENDERS
Long Hot Summer, by Street Boss
Last 3 Beyers: 77-94-71
◗ In three starts this year, her best effort came down the hill at Santa Anita when she beat males. She benefited from the outside post that day.
◗ The shorter trip on Friday affords her no time to dawdle.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Long Hot Summer. Trainer Phil D’Amato is 24-2-5-2 with a $0.25 ROI over the past five years going route to sprint at Del Mar (4-0-0-1 on turf). Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Shrinking Violet, by Congaree
Last 3 Beyers: 89-95-97
◗ She ran the best race of her career when winning this race last year, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 105, and she has won both of her starts on this course.
◗ She has been racing against the best female turf sprinters on the East Coast of late, including Lady Shipman two starts back, so this spot appears to offer some class relief.
Desert Steel, by Desert Code
Last 3 Beyers: 78-88-81
◗ This will be her first start since December, but she absolutely loves this course, with three straight wins in these Del Mar drag races.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Desert Steel. Has a 4-3-0-1 lifetime record in turf sprints at Del Mar and a 7-1-1-0 record in all other races. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
So Sweetitiz, by Grand Slam
Last 3 Beyers: 92-87-88
◗ Her form improved markedly when she was switched to turf sprints. She won down the hill at Santa Anita in her last two races.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Late Spring. Trainer Vicki Oliver is 16-6-0-2 with a $7.12 ROI over the past five years on turf at Del Mar. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan