One Bad Boy looks to rebound in Lure Stakes

From a tardy start to traffic issues in the opening quarter-mile, One Bad Boy did not have an ideal journey when he finished fourth in his first start in 13 months in a second-condition optional claimer Aug. 29 at Del Mar.

Still, One Bad Boy displayed enough to leave trainer Richard Baltas hopeful about an autumn campaign that begins in Sunday’s $70,000 Lure Stakes at a mile on turf at Santa Anita.

“I think he’s trained well going into this race,” Baltas said. “Hopefully, he breaks clean and runs like I know he can. Hopefully, we get this race under our belt and we move on.”

One Bad Boy, who races for Sayjay Racing, Greg Hall, and Brooke Hubbard, is best known for winning the Queen’s Plate for Canadian-breds in June 2019 at Woodbine, his lone stakes win in seven starts. One Bad Boy was later third in the Prince of Wales Stakes in July 2019 at Fort Erie before he was given an extensive break.

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“He needed six months,” Baltas said. “He’s always had funny feet. He’s really looking good right now. He just had that time.”

The Lure is restricted to horses who have not won a first-place purse of $55,000 or more at a mile or further this year, with the exception of statebred races.

At Del Mar on Aug. 29, One Bad Boy was beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Gregorian Chant, who is part of the Lure field. Drayden Van Dyke rode One Bad Boy on Aug. 29. Flavien Prat has the mount Sunday.

The Lure drew a field of six and is the fifth race on an 11-race program. Aside from One Bad Boy, there are two other stakes winners in the field, Grecian Fire and Majestic Eagle.

Lure entrant Murad Khan was third in the Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Santa Anita in March and was close in two races at the Del Mar summer meeting – a third-place finish in the restricted Wickerr Stakes in July and a second in an optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles on turf in August.

The Lure Stakes was Murad Khan’s next chance for a start, trainer Doug O’Neill said.

“There is nothing that came up that made sense,” O’Neill said. “He gives you 100 percent.”

O’Neill said the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap, a $200,000 turf race at 1 1/16 miles on Nov. 28 at Del Mar, is a possibility for Murad Khan. The same race could be on One Bad Boy’s schedule, pending Sunday’s outcome.