McCarthy's juveniles looking good
DEL MAR, Calif. – When trainer Michael McCarthy returned to his native Southern California late last year and went out on his own after working as an assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher, his clientele largely focused on upcoming 2-year-olds. It takes time and patience for that approach to come to fruition, but McCarthy’s small barn is picking up steam, and fast.
On Saturday at Del Mar, McCarthy has No Problem in the featured Grade 3, $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes, and two races earlier sends out the well-regarded filly Longstocking for her debut. In addition, McCarthy is hoping Unblunted, a sharp maiden winner during the recent Santa Anita fall meeting, can get into the $1 million Delta Jackpot on Nov. 22; 13 were pre-entered, only 10 can run.
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No Problem comes into the Hope off a victory against a high-priced maiden-claiming field. It was his second start after fading when attending a hot pace from an inside draw in his debut.
“I thought the spot he was in last time was the right spot at the time,” McCarthy said Thursday morning from Santa Anita, where he is based. “His first race was better than it looked on paper. He probably wasn’t ready to go 6 1/2 furlongs. The spacing of the last race fell into place, to run him for $75,000. It was a fair number. We decided to take a chance, and got lucky.”
Now, No Problem goes into a stakes, and tries Polytrack, both for the first time.
“It’s a tricky time of year because allowance races are few and far between, if they even go,” McCarthy said. “We decided to roll the dice.”
Longstocking goes in race 6 following a series of promising drills at Santa Anita.
“She came to us in June, and acts like she has ability,” McCarthy said. “It’s unknown how she’ll do on the synthetic surface, but she certainly seems to handle the dirt well enough. If she runs to her looks, she’ll be tough.”
Race 6, at six furlongs, drew a field of 11 2-year-old fillies, six of whom, like Longstocking, are making their debuts. Another first-time starter is Avenge, a daughter of War Front who cost $650,000 as a yearling. Gary Stevens has the mount for trainer Richard Mandella.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Prime Engine. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is 9-5-2-0 with a $2.73 ROI over the past year going dirt to synthetic and route to sprint. Click for more details. – Dan Illman
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DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 All Indians. Trainer Bob Hess Jr. is 15-5-2-2 with a $3.40 ROI over the past three years going dirt to synthetic in sprints following a layoff of between 31 and 44 days. Click for more details. – Dan Illman
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Story to Tell. Trainer Dan Hendricks is 31-7-4-2 with a $3.92 ROI over the past five years going from dirt to synthetic in sprints. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan