Storming Machine has been sparking in the morning for debut at Del Mar
DEL MAR, Calif. – Handicapping uncertainties are magnified Thursday at Del Mar, where leading contenders in three key races face challenges including surface, layoff, and distance.
A highly regarded 2-year-old with sharp works on dirt will debut on turf in race 2; a veteran mare who has not started since January returns in race 7 for California-bred allowance sprinters; and a 2-year-old sprint maiden stretches to a turf mile in race 8.
Notwithstanding hurdles, there are sufficient reasons to endorse debut colt Storming Machine, comebacker Secret Square, and stretch-out Tangledupingrey in respective races on a relatively quiet Thursday program.
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Storming Machine worked a fast 9.80 seconds at the OBS March Sale of 2-year-olds and sold for $560,000. Since he commenced California workouts for trainer John Sadler, Storming Machine has continued to work fast, on dirt. Turf will be new. His first-crop sire Cloud Computing never raced on turf; both progeny who tried it were off the board.
It might not matter Thursday, based on workouts by Storming Machine. He outworked stakes-placed Pure Fire on Aug. 5 and, in an earlier work, appeared best in company with the promising maiden Riverside, whose fifth-place debut stamped him one to follow at longer distances.
The point is that Storming Machine is battle-tested in workouts against good company. Although his pedigree includes minimal turf influence, Sadler-trained first-time starters are 6 for 28 in Del Mar turf sprints (all categories) the past five years. When it’s a debut juvenile at odds 4-1 or shorter at Del Mar, Sadler is 4 for 8.
Storming Machine and Victor Espinoza figure to start favored over Wound Up, a first-time starter sired by 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Mendelssohn. Michael McCarthy trains Wound Up for owner J. Paul Reddam. Others include Rexford, Big Stick, Colonel Vargo, and Auspice.
The featured seventh race is an entry-level allowance/optional $20,000 claiming sprint for California-bred fillies and mares. Secret Square returns from an extended layoff with a solid workout pattern for trainer Kristin Mulhall, and a 2-for-4 record over the Del Mar track. Secret Square’s speed figures match or exceed the 74 Beyer Speed Figure par for this level.
Although most recent starts by Secret Square have been routes, she has won sprinting at Del Mar. It is possible the six-furlong race is a prep for longer, but Secret Square enters as the fastest on speed figures with a training pattern that suggests she is ready to fire.
Others in the field include front-runner Uncaged Kitty, comeback turf specialist She’s Bulletproof, and last-out California-bred allowance winner Vella, who entered for the optional claiming tag.
Race 8 marks the second start by a 2-year-old maiden who looks like the most probable winner on the card. Tangledupingrey finished fourth in a sprint at Golden Gate Fields, a race from which the third- and fifth-place finishers returned to win. The winner Man Oh Man finished third in a stakes next out.
Tangledupingrey, now trained by Sadler, faces an easier field of California-bred maidens on Thursday. His rivals include Doug O’Neill-trained stretch-outs Chicknfingerfriday and Syntactic.