Sadler cooking with Evoo in maiden turf sprint

The week’s racing at Del Mar ends Sunday with a maiden turf sprint for 2-year-old fillies featuring some promising youngsters, including Evoo, who was a fast-finishing second in her debut to Astute, one of the leading contenders in the Desi Arnaz on Saturday.

Evoo closed furiously to miss by a neck going 5 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita Oct. 12. Owing to the configuration of the turf course at Del Mar, she has to cut back to five furlongs for race 9 Sunday.

“She ran super last time,” her trainer, John Sadler, said Friday morning. “I think she’s a really nice filly. She’s clearly a route type, but I thought she’d benefit by having another sprint before she stretches out.”

Evoo has a pedigree that suggests she’s just getting warmed up in sprints. She is by four-time Grade 1-winning turf horse Big Blue Kitten, and is out a mare by English Channel, a Breeders’ Cup Turf winner and male turf champion.

Among her rivals Sunday are Velvet, a daughter of American Pharoah who cost $875,000 as a yearling and is making her debut for Richard Mandella, and Magical Thought, third to Astute and Evoo in the Oct. 12 maiden race.

Sadler earlier Sunday in race 7 sends out Hermaphrodite, a 5-year-old mare making her United States debut in a first-level allowance going one mile on turf.

Hermaphrodite was purchased privately more than a year ago for Sadler’s primary clients, Kosta and Pete Hronis, but after getting close to race locally late last year “had a little issue,” Sadler said, causing her to not return to the work tab until September. It has now been nearly 15 months since her last start.

All of Hermaphrodite’s races in 2019 were at 1 1/4 miles or longer, which is what Sadler said he believes will be her preference in coming months.

“She’ll benefit by having a race off the layoff before the big meet at Santa Anita,” Sadler said.

Hermaphrodite is not named for her physical characteristics, Sadler said. “She can be bred,” said Sadler, who said the previous owner of the mare names all his horses beginning with the letter “H.”