Oceanside winner Hit the Road to miss La Jolla Handicap with bruised foot

Hit the Road, the winner of the $103,500 Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar on July 10, will miss the Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap on Aug. 9, but remains a candidate for the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 6.

Trainer Dan Blacker said on Wednesday that Hit the Road emerged from the Oceanside with a bruised foot that prevented full training in recent days.

“He needed to work last weekend,” Blacker said. “He won’t be ready to run in the La Jolla. We’ll give him a little more time to the Del Mar Derby.”

The $200,000 Del Mar Derby is run at 1 1/8 miles on turf, which will be a stamina test for Hit the Road.

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“I think my gut feeling is he’s best at a mile,” Blacker said. “He should get a mile and an eighth, especially at Del Mar with the way the turf course is. The turf course is very firm.”

Hit the Road has won 4 of 7 starts and earned $194,751 for the partnership of DK Racing, Radley Equine, Taste of Victory Stables, Rick Gold, and David Odmark.

Wednesday, Hit the Road jogged at Del Mar, Blacker said. The $125,000 La Jolla Handicap is run at 1 1/16 miles on turf for 3-year-olds.

“We’ve got to give him a little more time to be 100 percent,” Blacker said.