Master the Blues too rich for CERF
DEL MAR, Calif. – Master the Blues created a pleasant problem when she won Friday’s $96,560 Daisycutter Handicap at Del Mar. She earned too much money to be eligible for her next start, the $90,000 CERF Stakes on Sept. 3.
The CERF Stakes is run over six furlongs for fillies and mares who have not earned a first-place purse of $50,000 or more since March 1. In the Daisycutter, Master the Blues earned $56,640.
“She won too much,” trainer Bob Hess Jr. said.
Not that Hess was genuinely complaining. He was delighted to see Master the Blues close from third in a field of five under jockey Kent Desormeaux to catch pacesetter Kinz Funky Monkey and win the five-furlong dash by a neck in 57.10 seconds.
Master the Blues, a 5-year-old mare by Master Command, has won 7 of 19 starts and earned 181,320. The Daisycutter was her first stakes win. She could have been claimed for $25,000 at Presque Isle Downs in June when trained by Kathleen O’Connell. Master the Blues joined Hess’s stable for the Del Mar meeting.
The mare races for J.K. Houssels Jr., Gulliver Racing, and Schroeder Farms.
With limited opportunities before this meeting ends Sept. 3, Hess said Master the Blues could be a candidate for races at other venues with synthetic tracks, such as Arlington Park and Golden Gate Fields.