Top-class field makes O'Brien a puzzle

DEL MAR, Calif. – The principal contestants in Saturday’s Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at Del Mar consist of two winners of Breeders’ Cup races in 2017, one a champion, and an undefeated stakes winner with unlimited potential.

The $200,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs will not be an easy puzzle for bettors to solve. A case can be made for the unbeaten Catalina Cruiser, who won the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on July 21 in his stakes debut.

Then there is Roy H, the champion sprinter of 2017, who was second in the Bing Crosby, and Battle of Midway, who won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile last November. Battle of Midway was sent to stud in Kentucky last winter, but was found to be subfertile and was put back in training this spring.

“It’s a tough race,” said John Sadler, who trains Catalina Cruiser. “It might be the race of the meet.”

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The winner will receive a fees-paid berth to the BC Dirt Mile on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.

The race drew a field of eight, but trainer Phil D'Amato said on Friday he will scratch Ransom the Moon, one of his three entrants and among the top sprinters in the country. D'Amato said he will run Ransom the Moon in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Oct. 6 or the De Francis Dash at Laurel on Sept. 15. Ransom the Moon is being pointed to the Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.

Trainer Peter Miller said Wednesday there is a chance Roy H could be withdrawn in favor of the Santa Anita Sprint Championship.

KEY CONTENDERS

Catalina Cruiser, by Union Rags
Last 3 Beyers: 107-107-89

◗ Catalina Cruiser is unbeaten in three starts, the most recent of which was a comprehensive rout of four rivals in the San Diego Handicap.

“My horse is doing wonderful, maybe coming up to his best race,” Sadler said.

◗ In a sense, Catalina Cruiser is an understudy to his stablemate Accelerate, a three-time Grade 1 winner this year. Owners Pete and Kosta Hronis and Sadler have vowed to keep them apart. A start in the Pat O’Brien serves that purpose in the long-term and short-term, particularly if Catalina Cruiser can secure a win and gain a berth for the BC Dirt Mile. Accelerate is a leading candidate for the BC Classic the same day at Churchill Downs.

◗ Catalina Cruiser, who will be ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, drew the rail and has sufficient speed to set the pace.

“I think I’m on the best horse,” Van Dyke said. “They’ll have to chase me down. I think I’ll be on the lead.”

Roy H, by More Than Ready
Last 3 Beyers: 95-NA-105

◗ Roy H will be ridden by Paco Lopez, who has not ridden the 6-year-old gelding since a troubled second to Ransom the Moon in the 2017 Bing Crosby. Kent Desormeaux rode Roy H in five subsequent starts, including a win in the BC Sprint here last November and a second in the Bing Crosby last month.

◗ Roy H was the easy winner of an allowance race with a $62,500 claiming option at 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita in May 2017, but has never raced at seven furlongs.

“I don’t know that seven-eighths is his best distance,” Miller said.

“We not committed to running him. I want to win the Breeders’ Cup. To win this race and not the Breeders’ Cup is not a good trade for me.”

Battle of Midway, by Smart Strike
Last 3 Beyers: 108-92-101

◗ Battle of Midway has not started in a sprint since a third-place finish in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita in February 2017, his second start. Battle of Midway has since won three stakes at a mile or 1 1/16 miles.

◗ The Pat O’Brien is considered a comeback race for an autumn campaign.

“We understand it will be a competitive race,” trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said. “It’s a good place to start. We need to get a race into him and see where we’re at.”

- additional reporting by Jay Privman