Powell confident his duo is up to the task in pair of turf stakes
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Dicey Mo Chara and Flashiest exceeded the expectations of bettors when they finished second and third in stakes at Del Mar in late July.
The results have left trainer Leonard Powell eager to see if one of them can deliver an upset in Grade 2 turf stakes worth $300,000 at Del Mar on Saturday.
Dicey Mo Chara starts in the Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles, while Flashiest runs in the Del Mar Mile.
Asked on Thursday if one of them can win, Powell had a quick answer.
“Both of them,” he said, with a laugh.
Arguments can be made for the pair to run well.
Dicey Mo Chara, owned by Red Baron’s Barn and Rancho Temescal, closed from sixth in the final furlong to finish second by 2 3/4 lengths to Johannes at 76-1 in the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Del Mar on July 28.
“A mile and an eighth was a bit too short for him,” Powell said.
A 6-year-old gelding, Dicey Mo Chara was third by a half-length in the 2022 Del Mar Handicap, finishing behind Gold Phoenix and Master Piece, who are part of Saturday’s field.
Dicey Mo Chara, a winner of 4 of 24 starts, won the Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita in December 2022, but is winless in his last seven starts.
The Eddie Read Stakes was Dicey Mo Chara’s second start of the year. He was seventh of eight behind Gold Phoenix in the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes at Santa Anita in May in his first start since July 2023.
“We’ve put him against tough company,” Powell said, addressing the losing streak. “A lot of times it’s a matter of trips.”
Flashiest was 18-1 when he finished third in the restricted Wickerr Stakes at a mile on turf on July 21 behind two leading contenders in the Del Mar Mile in First Peace and Astronomer. The field also includes Du Jour, winner of the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita in March, who was a disappointing sixth in the Eddie Read Stakes.
Flashiest, winner of the 2021 Oceanside Stakes at a mile on turf at Del Mar, has started three times this year. At Santa Anita in the spring, Flashiest was fourth in an allowance race in late April in his first start since October, and won an allowance race in late May.
“We gave him a break for the winter and he came back a better horse,” Powell said. “If he jumps up, he’ll be in the mix of it.”
Through Wednesday, Powell, 47, was 11th in the trainer’s standings at the Del Mar summer meeting, with six wins from 27 runners.
“There were a few seconds that could have been wins,” he said.
So far, the highlight of the meeting for the Powell stable has been a win by Anisette in the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf on Aug. 10. A three-time Grade 1 winner, Anisette is scheduled to run in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on Sept. 7.
On Saturday, Dicey Mo Chara and Flashiest are Powell’s only runners, two chances to record a surprise victory on the biggest day of the Del Mar summer season.
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