Nero Tulip finds himself in tough in Oceanside Stakes

Nero Tulip had a bumpy American debut in an allowance race at Santa Anita on May 6, finishing seventh of nine after a troubled trip at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

His next scheduled start – Friday’s $100,000 Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar – may not be much easier.

The Oceanside Stakes, run at a mile on turf for 3-year-olds, is highly likely to have a full field. The Oceanside drew 26 nominations and track officials said on Monday that the maximum of 14 could start. Some owners and trainers may opt for an allowance race for 3-year-olds on turf on Saturday.

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Nero Tulip, owned by Lee and Susan Searing’s CRK Stable and trained by Peter Eurton, has not started since May 6, his lone race this year. In Ireland last year, Nero Tulip won 2 of 4 starts – winning a maiden race at six furlongs on turf at Naas and a minor handicap at seven furlongs on the synthetic track at Dundalk.

Despite the loss on May 6, Eurton said on Monday he was encouraged by Nero Tulip’s performance.

“It was farther than I wanted to go,” he said. “He got boxed in, and it was a better-than-looked race.”

Abel Cedillo rode Nero Tulip that day and has the mount on Friday in a field likely to be led by Balnikhov, who was second in the Grade 2 American Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 7; St Anthony, who won the Alcatraz Stakes at Golden Gate Fields on May 29; and Mackinnon, a two-time stakes winner in 2021 who was third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf last November.

The Oceanside is restricted to 3-year-olds who have not won a stakes worth $50,000 or more to the winner this year.

In what is typically a hectic race, Eurton hopes that Nero Tulip can produce a surprise result and finish in the first three.

“I’m hoping so,” he said. “He’s done nothing wrong in the mornings. He always looks on the impressive side at times.”

Eurton plans to have stakes runners through the first weekend of the Del Mar meeting, which begins on Friday for eight weeks through Sept. 11.

On Sunday, Dean Martini is scheduled to run in the Grade 3 Cougar II Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on dirt, the same day Storm the Court is expected to run in the $100,000 Wickerr Stakes at a mile on turf.

Dean Martini, who won the Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown in 2020 when trained by Tom Amoss, was fourth by three-quarters of a length in the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano Stakes at about 1 3/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita on June 19.

“He got in a little bit of trouble,” Eurton said.

Storm the Court won the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita, the year he was named champion 2-year-old male, but is winless in his last 12 starts. Earlier this year, Storm the Court was fifth in allowance races on dirt at Oaklawn Park and Churchill Downs.

The Wickerr will be Storm the Court’s first start on turf since he finished a tailed-off seventh in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park in January 2021.