Nolde up late to win Del Mar Derby

DEL MAR, Calif. – A gap of more than six weeks between starts helped Nolde record his first stakes win in Sunday’s Grade 2 Del Mar Derby.

After Nolde finished second by a nose in the restricted Oceanside Stakes on Dec. 17, opening day of the current Del Mar summer meeting, trainer John Shirreffs said he would skip the Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap on Aug. 4 in favor of the $251,404 Del Mar Derby for 3-year-olds.

Sunday, a well-rested Nolde rallied from sixth in a field of nine under jockey Victor Espinoza to win by a neck over 6-1 Originaire, who also closed well to just miss.

“Victor had him in a nice position,” said Shirreffs.

Shirreffs said he had a few anxious moment when Espinoza guided Nolde closer to the front while racing on the inside in early stretch. Espinoza found space after pausing for a few strides in the final sixteenth. He quickly got a response from Nolde to reach the front.

“I was afraid he’d get squeezed, but he didn’t,” Shirreffs said.

Originaire, the winner of an allowance race with an $80,000 claiming option on July 18, had his stakes debut in the Del Mar Derby. Ridden by Mike Smith, Originaire closed from eighth and finished a head in front of 2-1 favorite Neptune’s Storm, who led by a half-length with a furlong remaining.

“He ran dynamite,” Smith said. “It’s too bad we didn’t dead-heat.”

Nolde ran 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:46.98 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 90.

Neptune’s Storm, who won two stakes for 3-year-olds on turf at Santa Anita in the spring and was second in the La Jolla, stalked pacesetter Kingly, who won the La Jolla Handicap. Kingly set an early pace of 23.44 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 47.80 for a half-mile, but could not sustain the advantage and faded to finish fifth.

Nolde, a colt by Pioneerof the Nile, races for owner and breeder Jerry Moss, who attended Sunday’s race. Nolde has won 3 of 8 starts and earned $270,470. The colt has won his last three starts.

Nolde won a maiden special weight race at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on May 3 and an optional claimer at a mile on turf on June 21 before a narrow loss to Jasikan in the Oceanside Stakes.