Touching Rainbows in his element in dirt-sprint allowance

DEL MAR, Calif. – Phil D’Amato was tied for the lead in the trainers’ standings after the first three weeks of the Del Mar meet due to his success in stakes races, but also for putting his lesser horses into spots where they can thrive.

Take the case of Touching Rainbows, who runs in the featured race 7 on Thursday. When D’Amato took over as trainer, Touching Rainbows was coming off a lengthy layoff following some curious management. He had won a dirt sprint last summer at Del Mar from which he was claimed, then was immediately moved to turf, on which he had finished eighth of nine in his lone try.

The results were not a surprise. Touching Rainbows beat just three of his 15 rivals in those two grass races late last year. So, when he returned to action last month at Santa Anita, D’Amato put him in a dirt sprint since he had won the only time he had sprinted on a fast track.

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The results, again, were not a surprise. Touching Rainbows just missed, finishing second in his July 1 comeback, and that should put him on edge for a top performance Thursday in a similar optional-claiming sprint for California-breds.

“I think he’s better on dirt than he is on grass,” D’Amato said. “He ran well last time, and if he runs the same kind of race with these, he should be right there.”

Touching Rainbows drew well, landing post 8 of nine in the six-furlong race.

Just outside him is his main rival, The Street Fighter, who owns a win and a third in two starts.

Although the race is an optional claimer, every entrant is using his first-level allowance condition.

KEY CONTENDERS

Touching Rainbows, by Aragorn
Last 3 Beyers: 85-73-70

◗ The time off served him well, as he produced a career-best Beyer Speed Figure in his last start, his first for D’Amato, when racing for the first time in seven months.

◗ Flavien Prat takes over because jockey Tiago Pereira chose the other top contender, The Street Fighter.

The Street Fighter, by Street Boss
Beyers: 88-78

◗ He was a runaway winner of his debut and then was third in a similar Cal-bred optional claimer before getting a brief freshening.

◗ He has broken poorly in both his starts, and Touching Rainbows has more tactical speed, so he can ill afford to surrender too much of an advantage in the early going.

◗ There appears to be plenty of speed in this race, which should help his late run.

Coils Gold, by Coil
Last 3 Beyers: 73-68-58

◗ He has lost three straight since a winning debut, but that win came here last fall, so he has a right to improve at this track.