Top pair try to defy favorites' futility in Seabiscuit
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Two prominent stakes winners with opposite running styles return from layoffs with the same objective Saturday at Del Mar – pick up where they left off.
Almendares, a late-runner returning from a two-month break, and El Potente, a front-runner returning from a nine-month break, meet in the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Stakes. The 1 1/16-mile route, race 5, is the first of three turf stakes Saturday at Del Mar. The Grade 3 Jimmy Durante, a wide-open mile for 2-year-old fillies, is race 7, while the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby, a 1 1/8-mile race with standout favorite Test Score, is race 9.
Seven of the nine Seabiscuit entrants are stakes winners, including Cabo Spirit, Sumter, and Stay Hot. Other entrants are Scoobie Quando, Call Sign Seven, Astronomer, and Old Pal. Even though favorites are only 1 for 11 in the Seabiscuit, top choices Almendares and El Potente look solid.
Phil D’Amato trains stakes winner Almendares, whose third in the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile on Sept. 27 at Santa Anita was outstanding. The pace was slow, and Almendares flew late, missing by slightly more than a length with a final quarter-mile in a blazing 21.88 seconds.
The Breeders’ Cup Mile was briefly considered for Almendares, but only briefly.
“The way the Breeders’ Cup Mile was stacking up, it looked extremely salty,” D’Amato said. “We thought a better path might be this race and possibly the Pegasus Turf if things come to fruition.”
Before plans are made for the Grade 1, $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational on Jan. 24 at Gulfstream Park, Almendares and new rider John Velazquez must get past the Seabiscuit. D’Amato is happy with Almendares’s condition for his first start in two months.
“He runs well fresh. He’s had a nice series of drills and should be ready to roll,” D’Amato said.
Almendares has won five races and $469,695 from 19 starts. To win the Seabiscuit, Almendares must catch a front-runner making his first start since February.
El Potente was on the cusp of becoming an important turf miler last winter at Santa Anita, where he won the Grade 3 Thunder Road in 1:32.39 and earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure. That race was Feb. 1. He has not started since.
El Potente was entered in the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile in early March at Santa Anita, but he was scratched for reasons that were not specified.
“We felt that he wasn’t quite 100 percent,” trainer Dan Blacker said. “We’ve always given him time when he’s needed time. No specific injury.”
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El Potente was turned out for spring and summer, resumed workouts in early October, and has impressed Blacker.
“He’s coming back awesome. He hasn’t lost a step,” Blacker said.
The challenge is distance, as 1 1/16 miles is slightly beyond El Potente’s preference.
“He’s certainly fit enough,” Blacker said. “It’s just a question of is he as good at a mile and a sixteenth as a mile. A sixteenth of a mile doesn’t seem like much, but it can mean the difference between winning and losing at the top level.”
El Potente, with jockey Hector Berrios, is likely to set the pace. The 6-year-old will try to add to a career record of six wins and $248,796 from 14 starts. His winter objective is the Kilroe Mile on March 7 at Santa Anita.
Cabo Spirit, a 6-for-37 graded stakes winner with $1,296,336 in earnings, figures for a pressing trip outside El Potente. Sumter scored a highly rated victory last out in the restricted Lure Stakes at Santa Ania. He won by four lengths in 1:32.46 and should be forwardly placed in the Seabiscuit.
Astronomer, third last year in the Seabiscuit, will rally late along with California-bred stakes winner Old Pal. Stay Hot enters the Seabiscuit off back-to-back runner-up finishes in Grade 2 races won by Gold Phoenix.
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