Sneaking Out lays over field in Fleet Treat

DEL MAR, Calif. – The track, month, distance, and trainer are all different from the last time Sneaking Out was scheduled to race, but the one constant is that she remains an overwhelming favorite in a stakes race for California-bred 3-year-old fillies.

Sneaking Out was last set to compete in the Melair Stakes at Santa Anita on that track’s closing day June 23, but she was scratched from the 1 1/16-mile race owing to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer having all his runners withdrawn by Santa Anita that weekend following a fatality in a workout the morning of June 22.

Since then, Sneaking Out was transferred by owners Kevin and Kim Nish to trainer Keith Desormeaux, who will send out Sneaking Out for the first time Thursday at Del Mar in the $150,000 Fleet Treat Stakes.

The Fleet Treat, at seven furlongs, drew a field of seven, and the biggest drama might be the start, for Sneaking Out is stuck on the rail. On paper, though, she is a complete standout. She has recorded Beyer Speed Figures of 84 or better three times – including her last two starts – and her six rivals have a career best of 74 in their combined 34 starts.

The Fleet Treat goes as race 6 on a seven-race card that begins at 2 p.m. It is the second day of the meet, one of the favorites of the regular horseplayers following the usually over-the-top extravagance of opening day.

Del Mar is planning on running seven races every Thursday throughout the meet following a tumultuous Santa Anita season where racing had to be reduced to three days per week over the last two months.

KEY CONTENDERS

Sneaking Out, by Indian Evening

Last 3 Beyers: 84-86-73

◗ She did well with Hollendorfer, earning three wins and three seconds in six starts while scoring victories on both dirt and synthetic.

◗ She lost her most recent start when trying two turns for the first time, so the cutback in distance should aid her cause.

◗ Drayden Van Dyke has ridden her three times and owns two wins on her, including against maidens here last summer in a sprint when breaking from the rail. He retains the call for the Fleet Treat.

Ruby Bradley, by Grazen

Last 3 Beyers: 67-62-67

◗ The absence of Sneaking Out from the Melair proved beneficial for her, as she won for the first time in six starts, with fellow Fleet Treat entrants Tiz a Master second and Violette Szabo third.

Takethediamondlane, by Bodemeister

◗ A $300,000 yearling buy by owner Samantha Siegel, she is making her career debut.

“It’s a tough spot, but it was either that or wait for a Cal-bred race next month,” said her trainer, Brian Koriner, who added that he thought the Melair was a weak race.