Three with trouble in Del Mar allowance meet again in Santa Anita feature
The first race at Del Mar on Nov. 27, a one-mile allowance race on turf, had its fair share of troubled participants.
Lincoln Hawk was in traffic in early stretch about the time Appreciated was attempting a five-wide rally. Li Mu Bai might have been closer with a better break.
Those three and four others meet in an allowance race at 1 1/8 miles on turf in Monday’s third race at Santa Anita. Appreciated is expected to be near the front, while Lincoln Hawk and Li Mu Bai can be factors from off the pace.
Appreciated, claimed for $40,000 in October, failed to reach the front on Nov. 27 after a slow start, which trainer Doug O’Neill said essentially eliminated the 5-year-old gelding.
“He was stepping back a little bit and didn’t break as alertly as he has in the past,” O’Neill said. “It took away his main strength, which is gate speed. Hopefully, he’ll break clean and be forwardly placed.”
Li Mu Bai had his American debut on Nov. 27, following a 10-race campaign earlier this year in Ireland that included two wins in modest handicaps at seven furlongs and a mile.
Trained by Richard Baltas, Li Mu Bai closed from last of 11 on Nov. 27 to finish 3 1/2 lengths behind race winner Law Professor. Li Mu Bai was closest to the front through the stretch.
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“He definitely needed the race,” Baltas said. “He was a little green. He hasn’t changed a whole lot from his first race to his second race, except he’s settled down a little bit.”
Li Mu Bai will be ridden for the first time by Flavien Prat, a replacement for Victor Espinoza. This will be Li Mu Bai’s longest start in his 12th race.
“I got lucky,” Baltas said. “I got Prat on the horse. Do I think he’s ready to win or not? I don’t know.”
Baltas also trains the 3-year-old Lincoln Hawk, who will race as a gelding for the first time. In September, Lincoln Hawk was fifth, beaten 1 3/4 lengths, after a poor start in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby at 1 1/8 miles.
Four of the seven runners are Irish-breds, including Liberal, claimed for $32,000 by Kristin Mulhall when second at Golden Gate Fields on Nov. 27, and Prince Abama, the winner of a maiden special weight race at 1 1/16 miles on turf at Del Mar on Nov. 20.
Memo Daddy, fourth in a productive allowance race here in October, also starts.
Prince Abama, who will face winners for the first time on Monday, typically races as a stalker. Trainer Phil D’Amato was encouraged by the gelding’s five-furlong workout in 59.60 seconds on the infield training track on Dec. 19.
“I like how he’s training,” D’Amato said. “He’s just sharp right now. The win kind of got him on his toes. His last breeze was his best breeze to date.”