Obviously begins campaign in Del Mar Mile
DEL MAR, Calif. – Obviously, the 7-year-old millionaire, will start in Sunday’s $200,000 Del Mar Mile for the fourth consecutive year. This year, he approaches the race without a start in nearly 10 months.
In 2012, the Del Mar Mile was Obviously’s seventh start of the year. In 2013, the race was his fourth start of the year. And last year, it was his third. Obviously won the Del Mar Mile in 2012 and 2013 and was fourth last year.
Obviously has not raced since finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita last November. The layoff might be an asset, according to trainer Phil D’Amato.
“We gave him a little extra time to have him ready for the end of the year instead of campaigning early,” he said. “In years past, we’ve started early on him and started and stopped. I wanted a steady campaign.”
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Obviously drew the outside post in a competitive running of the Del Mar Mile, which drew 11 3-year-olds and up going a mile on turf. His main rivals are Talco, who won the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita in June, and Bal a Bali, who won the Grade 3 American Stakes at Santa Anita in May.
Other notable starters are Pure Tactics, Winning Prize, and Wilkinson, the first three finishers of the Wickerr Stakes here July 22, and Avanzare, unraced since winning the Grade 2 Arcadia Stakes at Santa Anita in January.
KEY CONTENDERS
Obviously (Last 3 Beyers: 104-92-107)
◗ In the BC Mile, Obviously set a quick pace, led by four lengths in the stretch, and finished 2 3/4 lengths behind the winning European import Karakontie. Following that race, Obviously spent the winter at a farm in Hemet, Calif., before rejoining D’Amato’s stable in April.
◗ With an outside draw, Obviously is expected to set the pace. D’Amato issued a friendly warning on Friday that anyone who tries to keep pace with Obviously might not be a factor in the last furlong.
“He’s got one way to go,” D’Amato said. “I don’t think they have our speed. He’s had two dynamite works, and his last work was like an A-plus drill.”
◗ Obviously, who races for Anthony Fanticola and Joe Scardino, will be ridden by regular rider Joe Talamo. Obviously worked five furlongs in 1:01.40 on turf last Sunday.
Talco (Last 3 Beyers: 103-100-98)
◗ Talco has been in career-best form, winning the Thunder Road Sakes at Santa Anita in April, finishing second to Bal a Bali in the American Stakes in May, and winning the richest race of his career in the Shoemaker Mile.
◗ The Shoemaker Mile win gave Talco a fees-paid berth to the BC Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 31.
◗ Talco will race from off the pace and will be reliant on an outsider such as Jimmy Bouncer to provide some pressure on Obviously.
“He’s just sharper and sharper,” trainer John Sadler said of Talco. “I imagine he’ll be tough.”
Bal a Bali (Beyers: 102-96)
◗ A champion in Brazil in 2014, the 5-year-old Bal a Bali emerged from a fifth-place finish in the Shoemaker Mile with a wrenched ankle, trainer Richard Mandella said. The injury led Mandella to wait for the Del Mar Mile and skip the Grade 1 Eddie Read Stakes last month.
“He got over it great,” Mandella said. “His works have been outstanding.”