DEL MAR – The plan was for a 10-race card here today featuring the $400,000, Grade I Del Mar Oaks.
Instead, it's a nine-race program featuring the $350,000, Grade I Del Mar Oaks.
But don't take the diminishments as a reflection of the quality of the 10 3-year-old fillies entered to go 1 1/8 miles on the turf. Rather, the lowered numbers are a reflection of some low-grade negativity that has been affecting the meeting as a whole.
The Oaks, which determines the meeting's 3-year-old filly champion, was one of five stakes races affected by the 3.5 percent purse cutback – caused by a reduction in business – announced Aug. 1 that went into effect Wednesday. The Oaks and the Grade II Del Mar Derby on Aug. 31 were the biggest stakes affected, each reduced by $50,000.
And one fewer race today boils down to an insufficient entry response to the 10 for which conditions were written when the card was being put together Wednesday.
“I'm not all that disappointed,” racing secretary Tom Robbins said. “We offered 10 and nine filled. It's really not that unusual. It happens at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park. “We're running 11 (races) on Pacific Classic Day (Aug. 24) and that will make up the one race we're short. With the Pacific Classic, three other graded stakes and an 11-race card, that's going to be a really good day.”
Of the 10 entrants in today's Oaks, five are graded stakes winners and two others won listed stakes in France before coming to the United States.
The opening-line favorite, at 9-5, is Storm Mesa. The daughter of Sky Mesa is a winner of five straight, with the last two being the Grade III Iowa Oaks at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa, and the Grade II San Clemente Handicap here July 26.
Rather than return Storm Mesa to the Midwest, trainer Brett Calhoun opted to keep the filly here in the interim. Eddie Martin Jr. will return to ride, making the second Del Mar appearance of his career. The race will be the second turf start of Storm Mesa's career. The San Clemente was the first.
Satan's Circus is the 5-2 second choice. Trained by Christophe Clement, and to be ridden by Garrett Gomez, Satan's Circus was imported from France for the $750,000, 1¼-mile American Oaks on July 5 at Hollywood Park. The result was a second-place finish to Pure Clan.
Along with Lethal Heat (10-1), who is aiming for a third stakes win of the meeting, Misty Ocean (6-1), Missit (10-1) and Million Dollar Run (20-1) are the other graded stakes winners entered. Oceane Music (15-1), undefeated in three starts in France, will make her U.S. debut for trainer John Shirreffs.
Alabama at Saratoga
Music Note and
Proud Spell, the top-ranked 3-year-old fillies in the country, are to square off today in the $600,000, Grade I Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. A field of six is entered, but connections for Music Note are reportedly considering scratching to run against males in the $1 million Travers a week from today.
Closers
Sweeter Still ($4.20), ridden by Gomez for trainer
Jeff Mullins, was a 1¼-length winner of yesterday's featured $85,880 Sandy Blue Handicap in 1:34.25 for the mile on turf. The $51,528 winner's share of the purse increased the 3-year-old filly's earnings to $265,361 . . . Earlier, the California Horse Racing Board filed a complaint against Mullins for an excessive total carbon dioxide (TCO2) level in a blood sample from
Pathbreaking, third-place finisher in the third race here Aug. 3. Stewards will conduct a hearing on the disqualification of Pathbreaking here Wednesday. A continuance is expected to be sought in a hearing for Mullins and that case will carry over beyond the Sept. 3 end of the meeting . . .
Bob Benoit, former general manager at Hollywood Park and founder of Benoit Associates, track photographers for the entire Southern California racing circuit, died yesterday at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood from pneumonia. He was 81.
Hank Wesch: (619) 293-1853; hank.wesch@uniontrib.com
