DEL MAR – John Sadler knows what folks are talking about when they speak of the mystical green flash on the beach at Del Mar at sunset. For Sadler, it's the color of the money his horses are delivering him during this meeting at the seaside track.
That was the Sadler-trained Get Funky, with jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. aboard, winning the sixth running of the $80,000 Green Flash Handicap in yesterday's feature race. Second in the betting at 5-2, Get Funky came from behind and edged 6-5 favorite Idiot Proof by a length. The winner finished the 5-furlong sprint on the turf in 55.39 seconds.
It was Sadler's second win of the day and his 19th of the meeting, giving him a nine-victory cushion over a trio of trainers (Doug O'Neill, Mike Mitchell and Jeff Mullins) tied for second in the meeting's conditioner standings.
“This horse has never lost when it ran short on the turf, and now he's 5-for-5 in turf sprints,” Sadler said.
Next up for Get Funky is the Morvich Handicap at 6 ½ furlongs on the turf on opening day of the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting, and then a date in the new $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint on Oct. 25 at Santa Anita.
Valdivia was content to sit off the pace with Get Funky as Idiot Proof – last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint runner-up, who was making his turf debut – and long-shot Magic Texan dueled for the lead. At midstretch, Valdivia asked for more, and Get Funky sliced between Idiot Proof and Magic Texan.
“He's the kind of horse I look forward to riding in the Breeders' Cup,” Valdivia said.
Get Funky, a 5-year-old offspring of Straight Man and Miss Popularity, won for the seventh time in 16 starts for owner Keith Abrahams, earning $50,964 and raising his lifetime earnings to $604,757.
Rulings
The board of stewards suspended jockey
Omar Berrio, 39, for six months (through Feb. 8) for “Evidence of unfitness for license and disorderly conduct: Illegal substances – cocaine.” Berrio must complete an in-house rehabilitation program and appear before stewards for a fitness for license hearing before being reinstated.
Also, leading rider Rafael Bejarano and Victor Espinoza were fined $500 each for their scuffle in the jockeys room after the controversial finish to Sunday's Best Pal Stakes. On Monday, Espinoza was suspended for three days for careless riding in that stakes race. His horse, Kelly Leak, was disqualified from first to fourth, allowing Azul Leon, with Bejarano aboard, to win.
Notes
Nominations for the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 24 close today, and the field for Del Mar's premier race is shaping up to be large and competitive.
McCann's Mojave was added to a list of 14 other horses under consideration, including defending champion
Student Council and runner-up
Awesome Gem. The others:
Surf Cat, Well Armed, Barcola, Belo Purse, Delosvientos, Go Between, Mast Track, Mostacolli Mort, Out of Control, Tissy Fit, Tres Borrachos and
Zappa. A record 14 horses raced in the 2002 Pacific Classic.
Tigley, a 3-year-old gelding trained by Brian Koriner and owned by Flintridge Stable and STD Racing Stable, was euthanized after breaking his left front leg in the stretch run of the third race. Seenosmoke, a 3-year-old gelding trained by A.C. Avila and owned by Rancho San Roberto Inc. & Paseta, was more fortunate, suffering a nonfatal tendon injury in his left front foot in the same race. Tigley is the second horse to be put down after getting injured in racing on the second-year Polytrack.
Starting yesterday and before each day's racing, Del Mar will announce the daily maintenance schedule for Polytrack. The information includes how deep the surface was power-harrowed and rototilled and how much water was put on the track before and during the races. It will be spelled out on the big screen for on-track patrons, and off-track bettors will see it on TV screens.
Ed Zieralski: (619) 293-1225; ed.zieralski@uniontrib.com
