Regaled returned to the Mid-Atlantic region on Sunday and earned her first stakes victory in the Grade 3, $400,000 Delaware Handicap. The 4-year-old filly made her breakthrough with a commanding move in the mud at Delaware Park, kicking clear to win by 6 1/4 lengths. Now based at Churchill Downs for trainer Whit Beckman, the filly spent most of her early career at Laurel Park for Sammy Davis and earned a reputation as a rock-solid stakes contender. After finishing third in the $125,000 Allaire DuPont at Pimlico, she was purchased for $300,000 at the Inglis Digital USA May sale and shipped to Kentucky. In her first two starts for Beckman, Regaled continued to steadily improve and finished second in the $200,000 Groupie Doll before stepping up to finish third in the Grade 2 Locust Grove. She returned to Delaware as a clear third choice behind Dazzling Move and Majestic Oops, but she left those two rivals well behind in a sparkling effort. Dazzling Move, the 4-5 favorite trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., was confidently handled in the early going when Micah Husbands let her take a 2 1/2-length lead on the first turn through an opening quarter-mile in 22.83. Majestic Oops chased behind in second while Regaled and jockey Joseph Ramos settled back to last in the field of five. “She broke sharp today and she tried to drag me into the first turn, so I was trying to get her to relax a little bit because I know her move is from coming off the pace,” Ramos said. “She settled nicely and at three-eighths I tapped her and she jumped forwarded. At that point, I knew I had them.” Husbands and Dazzling Move continued blazing along on the front end on the backstretch, completing the half-mile in 47.02 while the rest of the field maintained similar formation behind her. The heavy favorite carried on with a three-length lead on the far turn, but when Husbands asked her for more in the stretch, she came up empty and quickly fell back. Majestic Oops had the first crack at the flagging front-runner, but when she flattened out, 14-1 longshot Runaway Diva cut the corner and surged past. Her time in front was unruly and brief, however, as struggled to maintain her stride while tiring herself. The path was practically rose-laden for Regaled, who slipped past Majestic Oops and Dazzling Move before taking dead aim at the new leader. She breezed past effortlessly, completing the 1 1/8-mile distance in 1:50.94 and paying $8.40 to win. “I was actually running out of googles on the backside because the track was muddy and sticky,” Ramos said. “Everything was sticking to them, but I was thinking I need to have at least one left to bring this home. I kept pushing and going and she responded. In the stretch, she was strong and I am super proud of the way she ran today.” Runaway Diva finished second for trainer Michelle Hemingway and crossed the wire 4 1/2 lengths ahead of Dazzling Move. The front-runner had nothing left in the stretch but stayed ahead of Majestic Oops by three-quarters of a length. After the race, jockey Jaime Rodriguez guided last-place finisher Queen of Missoula alongside Regaled and leaned over to hug Ramos on his way to the winner’s circle. It was a rare trip to Delaware for the rider and easily the best of his career. Battery Park Stakes Two horses ran in the $200,000 Battery Park Stakes instead of the Grade 2 Woodward this weekend, but the race at Delaware Park on Sunday went to one who was always going to make the trip. Cooke Creek, a 6-year-old gelding trained by Mike Maker, returned to his front-running ways to win his first stakes since October 2021. “Everything worked out as I expected,” jockey Jaime Rodriguez said. “I wanted to get out front and control it. That is what we did.  Everything worked out well and we got the big money.” Coming off a sixth-place finish in an allowance at Saratoga, bettors were naturally hesitant to back the hard-knocking gelding. He went off as a distant 6-1 third choice behind hotter stakes contenders Awesome Aaron and Gould’s Gold, who could have run at Aqueduct on Saturday but took the trip in search of a softer field. Exactly one year ago, however, Cooke Creek would not have been such an outsider against that pair. On Sept. 28, 2024, the gelding finished second by a neck in the Grade 2 Lukas Classic, a starmaking performance for the front-runner Maker had claimed for $40,000 four months prior. Three more starts in graded stakes were less inspiring and his first race off a six-month layoff at Saratoga was poor, but Cooke Creek broke sharply under Rodriguez in the Battery Park and instantly turned back the clock. Back on the front end for the first time in a year, he completed the opening quarter-mile in 23.78 seconds and entered the first turn with a two-length lead. Awesome Aaron, the 6-5 second choice trained by Norm Casse, inched closer on the backstretch in second, but he did very little to pressure Cooke Creek through a half-mile in 49.16. Gould’s Gold, the 4-5 favorite trained by Kenny McPeek, advanced into third but was similarly unhurried behind the early leader. When Rodriguez asked his front-runner for more on the far turn, Cooke Creek responded well on the muddy track and easily kicked away from Awesome Aaron and Gould’s Gold to reassume his two-length advantage. The stalking favorites ran on to the wire, but they never came close to making a winning move. Cooke Creek won by three lengths and completed the 1 1/8-mile distance in 1:50.91. He paid $15.20 to win. Much as they might have if they had taken on three rivals in the Woodward the day before, Awesome Aaron finished a neck in front of Gould’s Gold for second. The pair were 10 3/4 lengths ahead of fourth-place finisher Auto Glide. In his second career start in 2021, Cooke Creek won his first stakes race in the $50,000 Rocky Run at Delaware. It was a promising start to what has proven to be an excellent career. But in order to earn that second stakes victory nearly four years on, the salty gelding had to come back to his original stomping grounds. Wilmington Stakes Silver Slugger was clearly fatigued in the stretch of the $150,000 Wilmington Stakes on Sunday, swerving home on the muddy track at Delaware Park after leading the entire way. But with a determined ride from jockey Sonny Leon, the 5-year-old gelding hung on by a neck to earn his second straight stakes victory. “He has a lot of speed, so I just wanted to make sure we were in front,” Leon said. “He is the kind of horse when another horse is behind him, he keeps going. He really dug in today and fought.” In the $100,000 Rumson at Monmouth Park last month, Silver Slugger dusted a weaker group by 4 1/2 lengths, but he needed to dig deeper on Sunday to earn his second stakes victory for trainer Juan Avila. The front-runner completed the opening quarter-mile in 22.37 seconds, and fellow speedster Showstopper Copper applied pressure on the backstretch to keep him honest through a half-mile in 45.57. Leon did his best to coax Silver Slugger around the far turn, but Showstopper Copper stayed closed behind and stalking 8-1 shot Ninja Warrior joined the fray on the outside turning for home. The three runners hit the stretch within a length of one another, with Silver Slugger maintaining a short lead. The incident that led to a jockey’s objection occurred when Silver Slugger ducked in and drifted back out in the run to the wire, forcing Showstopper Copper and Angel Rodriguez to angle in to avoid trouble while gradually falling back. Leon did his best to keep Silver Slugger in view of Ninja Warrior, who ran on determinedly to the wire but came up short by a neck. Silver Slugger completed the six-furlong sprint in 1:11.14 and paid $6 to win. Ninja Warrior, a 6-year-old horse trained by Greg Compton, was unaffected by Silver Slugger’s drifting and finished 1 3/4 lengths clear of Showstopper Copper. Rodriguez’s objection against Leon from third was dismissed. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.