Promising Euro Detain makes U.S. debut

ARCADIA, Calif. – A competitive turf allowance with stakes implications has replaced the previously scheduled $100,000 Desert Stormer Stakes as Sunday’s featured eighth race at Santa Anita after the stakes was canceled due to insufficient entries.

The cancellation was not unexpected. The Desert Stormer, a sprint stakes for fillies and mares, was hanging on by a thread. It drew four, four, six, and three starters in its last four editions. This year, only four horses were nominated. Track officials have rewritten the race as an extra for Thursday, June 11.

Taking the place of the Desert Stormer on Sunday is a deep second-level turf allowance at one mile that features two notable comebackers. European Group 1-placed Detain makes his U.S. debut, while local stakes winner Scipio also returns from a layoff.

The field includes stakes winner Tempus Volat, Grade 1-placed Iron Man Cal, and Watsonville, a second-level allowance winner entered for the optional $80,000 claiming tag. The others are Henry Adams, Charlie’s to Blame, Dhitjari, Centrodelantero, City Exile, and Man Among Men. Watsonville is the only horse entered for the $80,000 optional claiming tag.

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Detain enters with strong credentials. The Juddmonte-owned colt finished third in the Group 1 French Derby at Chantilly in spring 2025 and was third in a Group 2 event at Newmarket in his most recent start last September. He is now trained by Michael McCarthy.

“He’s a horse we have high hopes for,” McCarthy said, acknowledging the layoff. “First start in the country and his first start off an extended layoff, he may need one to kind of figure it out here in the United States.”

Juan Hernandez rides Detain, who has won 3 of 9. McCarthy expects the colt to progress from his comeback effort.

“It shouldn’t take him long,” McCarthy said. “Hopefully, he’ll find his way into some of the better races over the summer at Del Mar.”

Scipio, a stakes winner at 3 and stakes-placed at 2, makes his first start since a dull comeback last fall. Trainer Richard Baltas pulled the plug on his campaign.

“He just wasn’t running the same, and he’d never really had a break,” Baltas said. “There wasn’t anything obvious physically, but I felt like he was tailing off. We decided to give him some time because we still believe he has plenty of ability.”

Scipio, a winner of 2 of 10 starts, will be ridden by Emisael Jaramillo, who has worked the colt.

“His last couple of works have been very good,” Baltas said. “He’s ready to run, and hopefully he can put together a strong campaign this year.”

Scipio will be re-equipped with blinkers and add Lasix. Baltas believes blinkers will help sharpen his focus.

“It’s just a cheater blinker,” Baltas said. “He seems more focused with them. I worked him both ways and thought he trained better wearing them.”

Tempus Volat, a stakes winner and Grade 2-placed runner, had tough trips both starts this season, finishing eighth and seventh in similar allowance races. Iron Man Cal was gelded following a fourth-place finish in April and has reportedly trained well since.

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