War At Sea targets La Jolla Handicap, Del Mar Derby

ARCADIA, Calif. - War At Sea has undergone a rapid transformation since trainer Ron Ellis moved the 3-year-old colt to two-turn races on turf in February.

War At Sea lost his first four starts, then was a game third in a one-mile turf race for maidens in February. He has not lost since, in a span of three races that includes an attractive win in Saturday’s $100,000 Cinema Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita.

“He’s definitely on an up elevator,” Ellis said Sunday. “I’ve always thought he wanted to go farther.”

The next test will come in graded stakes at Del Mar. The Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on turf on Aug. 7, and the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby at 1 1/8 miles on Sept. 3 are planned for War At Sea, who races for Doubledown Stable.

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War At Sea was purchased for $525,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale of 2-year-olds in-training in March 2021, and has earned $170,780. By War Front, War At Sea is impeccably bred. He is out of the stakes winner Serene Melody. His second dam is Serena’s Song, a Hall of Famer and the champion 3-year-old filly of 1995.

War At Sea finished three-quarters of a length in front of a fast-closing Cabo Spirit in a field of five. Trainer George Papaprodromou said Sunday that the $150,000 La Jolla is a goal for Cabo Spirit.

The surprise of the race was a fourth-place finish by Balnikhov, the 3-5 favorite who faded through the stretch and was beaten 2 3/4 lengths in his first start since a second to Stolen Base in the Grade 2 American Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 7.

Trainer Phil D’Amato said he may have started Balnikhov too quickly after the Churchill Downs race.

“I don’t blame anyone but myself,” D’Amato said. “He gave me every indication he was training well.”

Balnikhov will be pointed to the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes at a mile on turf on July 22, the opening day of the Del Mar summer meeting.

The Oceanside typically draws a large field. Other candidates are St Anthony, who won the Alcatraz Stakes at Golden Gate Fields on May 29, and Mackinnon, who was third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar last November.

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