Restricted Let It Ride a good place to regroup

Margot’s Boy and Heywoods Beach finished on opposite ends of an 11-horse field in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 6.

Margot’s Boy finished second by a head, leading in the final sixteenth before being caught in the final strides by favored Pixelate. Heywoods Beach was not a factor and finished 10th, at 38-1.

Eight weeks later, they meet in Sunday’s $75,000 Let It Ride Stakes at a mile on turf for 3-year-olds at Del Mar. The Let It Ride is an easier assignment than the Del Mar Derby, but drew a competitive field of 10. The race is restricted to nonwinners of a first-place purse of $60,000 or more to the winner since April 1, other than statebred races.

Heywoods Beach has won 2 of 8 starts for Pete and Kosta Hronis and trainer John Sadler. Heywoods Beach had three starts at Del Mar during the summer, finishing a troubled eighth in the Oceanside Stakes on July 10 and winning an optional claimer on turf Aug. 9.

“I made a little error to run him three times at Del Mar,” Sadler said Friday. “I’m trying to get a little class relief.”

Umberto Rispoli rode Heywoods Beach to a win Aug. 9 and has the mount Sunday. Rispoli rode Pixelate in the Del Mar Derby.

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“We’ve got the great turf rider,” Sadler said.

At the Del Mar summer meeting, Rispoli finished second in the overall standings to Flavien Prat and was the leading rider on grass with 35 wins.

Margot’s Boy followed the narrow loss in the Del Mar Derby with a seventh-place finish in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby on Oct. 18 at Santa Anita. Owned by Sonny Pais, Margot’s Boy was within two lengths of the front on the turn, but faded from contention.

“For whatever reason I don’t think he ran his best race in the Twilight,” trainer Craig Lewis said. “He might have taken too much of a hold to get him back. It wasn’t his day. He didn’t seem comfortable with where he was situated in the race.”

The Let It Ride Stakes will be the stakes debut for Lane Way, who ran well on turf in August and September, and the California debut of Lure Him In, who was second in the minor Bear’s Den Stakes on Sept. 5 at Gulfstream Park.

The Let It Ride Stakes is the turf stakes debut for Strongconstitution, who was second of four in the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes at seven furlongs at Del Mar last November.

Trained by Doug O’Neill, Strongconstitution was fourth in his first start of 2020 in a first-condition optional claimer at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar in August and later third in two one-mile optional claimers on dirt in September and early October.

“We love the 3-year-old only angle,” O’Neill said of the Let It Ride conditions. “That’s a plus.

“I think the move [to turf] shouldn’t be an issue. He’s got the speed to stay out of trouble.”

O’Neill also starts Rookie Mistake, who was a troubled third in the California Flag Handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf Oct. 11 at Santa Anita.