Sneaking Out goes from hunter to hunted in Rancho Bernardo
DEL MAR, Calif. – Maybe she was fortunate to post a 7-1 upset last out, or maybe Sneaking Out simply outran the unlucky runner-up Bellafina.
Either way, the element of surprise is missing Friday at Del Mar, where Sneaking Out will not sneak up on anyone. Instead, she trades her longshot role for the status as race favorite in her first start since taking leadership of the California female sprint division.
Sneaking Out is the 8-5 program favorite Friday in the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint that could validate her victory over Bellafina in the Grade 2 Great Lady M. on July 4 at Los Alamitos. In a way, her win has been validated already – Bellafina subsequently shipped to Saratoga and finished a strong second in the Grade 1 Ballerina.
To win the Rancho Bernardo, Sneaking Out must catch front-runner Artistic Diva and hold off late-runner Unique Factor. The other entrants are stakes winners Gingham, Mother of Dragons, and Mucho Amor, along with Into Chocolate and Amuse.
Sneaking Out paid $16.40 last time out, but trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was not surprised at her first graded stakes victory.
“She was just training real good, and doing real good,” he said.
The race was her third following a layoff, and calling the win fortunate is probably unfair to Sneaking Out. The California-bred filly is legit. She has crossed the wire first in 6 of her 11 races, finished one-two in four stakes, and earned a 92 Beyer last out that tops the Rancho Bernardo field.
However, it’s fair to wonder if Bellafina would have defeated Sneaking Out with a different trip in the Great Lady M. Bellafina raced inside, was trapped on the rail into the lane, and was forced to wait while Sneaking Out got first run. Sneaking Out got the best trip, pressing the pace outside, and won by three-quarters of a length.
Hollendorfer, who won the 2019 Rancho Bernardo with Danuska’s My Girl, expects Sneaking Out to produce a similar effort Friday.
“I sent her down [to Del Mar] early, she’s had works over the track, so she’s good,” he said.
Sneaking Out, owned and bred by the KMN Racing Stable of Kevin and Kim Nish, employs a pressing style that should lead to a good trip just off the pace under Umberto Rispoli.
Front-runner Artistic Diva, a 2-year-old stakes winner in 2017, is the one to catch while returning to dirt. She finished ninth and last sprinting on turf in the Daisycutter here July 24.
“She hated the turf last time,” trainer John Sadler said. “It’s a throw-out race – draw a line through it. She’s got a lot of speed. She’s always dangerous.”
Front-runners have had minimal success this summer in dirt sprints – only 6 of 40 races from six to seven furlongs were won by the pacesetter. Artistic Diva is fast, and Sadler acknowledged the challenge.
“Six and a half is not to her advantage,” Sadler said. “For her, it’s about how much other speed is there. She’s always going to be in front.”
Ruben Fuentes rides Artistic Diva, listed at 8-1 on the morning line. Artistic Diva may be up against it, but so was Sadler-trained front-runner Yuvetsi, who paid $20.40 winning the 2018 Rancho Bernardo.
Northern California-based front-runner Mother of Dragons provides pace pressure for Artistic Diva. If they duel, the race could unfold for Unique Factor, who arrived at Del Mar late Tuesday from trainer Peter Miller’s East Coast base at Monmouth.
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Unique Factor, 4 for 19, was purchased privately this spring and tested deep waters right off the bat. Sandwiched around a relatively fast allowance win at Churchill Downs were a fourth in the Grade 3 Winning Colors at Churchill Downs, and sixth last out in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland. Flavien Prat rode her last time and will be back aboard Friday.
“We took a couple shots, now we’re stepping back,” Miller said. “She fits well. Flavien got to her know last time, and she’s training very well.”
Unique Factor, the 4-1 second choice by linemaker John Lies, will roll from behind.
The Rancho Bernardo is race 9.
An interesting turf mile for California-bred 2-year-old maidens goes as race 5. Hollendorfer-trained Scooby, third in the Graduation Stakes in his career debut early this month, stretches out and switches surfaces.
“We were looking at that horse as a grass horse,” Hollendorfer said. “I thought he ran an excellent race. We think he has good grass breeding, and he should run pretty good.”
Sired by Fast Anna and produced by a Scat Daddy mare, Scooby is the 3-1 program favorite over second-time starter Big Talker and stretch-out Big Fish.