Nucky upsets tumultuous renewal of Del Mar Futurity

DEL MAR, Calif. – Nucky was the 35-1 upset winner of the Grade 1, $301,053 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity on Monday, a race in which heavily favored Eight Rings took a sharp left-hand turn 150 yards into the race, tossing jockey Drayden Van Dyke and causing Flavien Prat to be dislodged from Storm the Court, who was racing just behind and inside of Eight Rings.

Eight Rings, the 1-2 favorite off a runaway debut win Aug. 4, veered in at the start, was corrected by Van Dyke, but soon thereafter suddenly veered straight for the inner rail. Van Dyke fell off right in the path of Storm the Court, with Prat having no chance to react, and Prat too came off.

Prat immediately jumped to his feet and ran toward Van Dyke, who was rolling back and forth on his back, laying in the dirt, shortly after the incident.

Van Dyke was taken to Scripps La Jolla Hospital for observation, but was moving his arms and legs. “He told the driver he was OK,” said Joe Harper, Del Mar’s chief executive officer, who said Van Dyke had cuts on a hand and the side of his head. X-rays were negative, Van Dyke’s agent, Brad Pegram, reported Monday night.

Prat was emotionally shaken up after the accident but rode the next race, the final one of the meet, and won.

“His horse tried to make the gap,” Prat said before the final race, referring to a path where horses cross from the backside stable area to a walkway east of the far turn.

Both horses ran around the course and were caught by outriders. Both Bob Baffert, who trains Eight Rings, and Peter Eurton, who trains Storm the Court, said their colts were doing well back at their barns.

Not one horse suffered a catastrophic injury in a race this meet.

“It’s the only thing we’ve been thinking about,” Harper said after the final race. “Safety, safety, safety.”

Nucky ($72) outfinished his Peter Miller-trained stablemate, Wrecking Crew, by 2 3/4 lengths to give Miller his first win in the Futurity. Defense Wins was another half-length back in third, then came, in order, Ginobili, Fore Left, and Garth. Eight started, but only six finished with riders.

The race was fast early, very slow late. Garth, Fore Left, and Nucky vied for the lead through a torrid 21.89-second opening quarter-mile in the seven-furlong race, and then Fore Left made it a four-way battle for the lead following a half-mile in 44.90 seconds.

Nucky shook them off, and plugged away under jockey Norberto Arroyo Jr. through six furlongs in 1:11.09 and a final time of 1:25.52 for seven furlongs on the fast main track, meaning the final furlong took 14.43 seconds. Nucky also had to survive a claim of foul from Richard Baltas, trainer of Ginobili.

Nucky had won once in four previous starts, that win coming in his first local start after three races in Kentucky. He beat a field of high-priced maiden claimers by 10 1/2 lengths on Aug. 21 at Del Mar.

Gary Hartunian’s Rockingham Ranch owns Nucky, a colt by Ghostzapper. He earned $180,000 for the win.