Master the Blues leads off-the-turf Daisycutter
DEL MAR, Calif. – Befitting its name, the $90,000 Daisycutter Handicap is supposed to be on grass, but with turf sprints eliminated for the rest of the summer at Del Mar, Friday’s feature now is on the main track, which caused an expected large field to shrink to just six.
There were 32 horses originally nominated to the five-furlong Daisycutter. Only five of them are in the race. The movement of the race from turf to Polytrack, though, presented an opportunity for trainer Bob Hess Jr. He and the owners of Master the Blues decided to supplement her Saturday, and Master the Blues now is one of just six runners in the race, and no one in the field has won more races on synthetic surfaces.
“We had no intention of running her on the grass, but when it came off the grass, we decided to go,” Hess said. “Five furlongs should hit her right between the eyes.”
Master the Blues just ran July 25, going two turns on the main track here. She is an intriguing turnback play, having won a pair of sprints on the synthetic surface at Presque Isle Downs in June. It was after those two races that Master the Blues was privately purchased.
“I don’t usually run back that quickly, but she’s a beast of a mare, 1,150 to 1,200 pounds,” Hess said. “We’re taking a shot to get some black type.”
To prevail, Master the Blues will have to defeat the likes of Kinz Funky Monkey, already a winner over the main track here this summer, and Tribal Spy, who was a terror on the downhill turf course this year at Santa Anita but won her lone start on this main track last summer.
Key contenders
Master the Blues (Last 3 Beyers: 85-87-82)
* She owns three wins on synthetic surfaces, tying her with Tribal Spy for the most among those in this race.
* Kent Desormeaux, the meet’s leading rider, has the mount. He and Hess have had great success together for more than 20 years.
“He’s a great rider, and he’s happy now,” Hess said. “I can see it in his eyes.”
Kinz Funky Monkey (Last 3 Beyers: 79-47-85)
* Returned from a four-month layoff to win a second-level allowance going six furlongs July 17, her second win from five starts on this main track.
* She has sharp early speed but figures to have company early from Uzziel if that filly shows the kind of speed she did in the Santa Paula back in April.
* Owner Rocco Aceto, who races as Always Believe Inc., has had a solid meet from limited starters. Aceto named Kinz Funky Monkey, a daughter of The Green Monkey, for his granddaughter, Kinzie.
Tribal Spy (Last 3 Beyers: 83-93-88)
* If this race were on turf, she clearly would be the one to beat based on her outstanding downhill-turf-sprint form at Santa Anita, where she won the Irish O’Brien Stakes and the Las Cienegas Handicap this year, but she is versatile, with three wins on synthetic surfaces in four starts.
* She has won four of her last eight starts, including a victory on Polytrack here last summer.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Tribal Spy. Trainer Adam Kitchingman is 2 for 18 over the past five years with a $1.04 ROI when moving horses from turf to synthetic in sprints.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Delta Flower. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is 5 for 12 with a $3.18 ROI over the past two years with horses going from routes to sprints on synthetic surfaces with a purse of at least $70,000.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan