Ride a Comet runs down River Boyne in Del Mar Derby

DEL MAR, Calif. - Ride a Comet, third in the Grade 2 Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga last month, was the only out-of-town shipper in Sunday’s Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on turf. The visiting colt had one local angle in his favor – leading jockey Drayden Van Dyke, who rode him to the win.

Riding Ride a Comet for the first time, Van Dyke led the colt to a clear running path in the final quarter-mile before running down even-money favorite River Boyne to take the lead in the final sixteenth.

“I was loaded from the word go,” Van Dyke said. “As soon as I tipped him out, he took off. I thought I had the race in the bag.”

Van Dyke has won 10 stakes at the current summer meeting, which ends Monday.

Kazan, a 50-1 outsider in his graded stakes debut, closed from 11th to finish second, a half-length in front of River Boyne.

There were 12 horses in the starting gate, but only 11 were listed as official starters.

The filly Animosity was declared a non-starter after she was held up in the gate when the stall doors opened. The stewards conducted a lengthy inquiry before ordering refunds on bets involving Animosity. Jockey Tyler Conner said Animosity was held “for a long time” by the assistant starter when the gate opened.

“I don’t blame him,” Conner said. "She was kind of jumpy. I thought he had her (ready), but it was bad timing, I guess.”

Animosity was 45-1 on the toteboard after the race and before being declared a non-starter.

Ride a Comet ($13.60) was the second choice. Van Dyke had Ride a Comet in ninth and then eighth for the first six furlongs. He moved the colt into a four-wide position to win by 1 1/2 lengths, finishing 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.11. Ride a Comet earned a career-best Beyer Speed figure of 91.

Take the One O One set a moderate pace of 23.97 seconds for the opening quarter-mile, and 48.26 for a half-mile.

River Boyne was beaten in California for the first time in his fifth start of the year. River Boyne has won three stakes this year, including the Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap. Trainer Jeff Mullins said River Boyne would have been better racing farther off the pace.

“He was too close and too strong,” Mullins said.

River Boyne was followed in the order of finish by Majestic Eagle, Restrainedvengence, Desert Stone, Arawak, Epical, Pubilius Syrus, Andesh, and Take the One O One.

Ride a Comet, by Candy Ride, races for John Oxley and My Meadowview Farm and is trained by Mark Casse. Ride a Comet won the Charlie Barley Stakes at a mile on turf at Woodbine on June 30 in his turf stakes debut.

Ride a Comet has won 5 of 10 starts and earned $305,856.