Catalina Cruiser Aims for Another Del Mar Repeat

After last month defending his title in the San Diego Handicap (G2), Catalina Cruiser will look to win the Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) for a second consecutive year Aug. 24 at Del Mar.

Hronis Racing's Catalina Cruiser won those two Del Mar stakes in 2018 by a combined 14 lengths, and this year he improved to 3-for-3 at the seaside track when he posted a frontrunning score in the 1 1/16-mile San Diego at odds of 1-9.

After the San Diego, a prep for the $1 Million TVG Pacific Classic Stakes (G1), trainer John Sadler noted he had some options with the son of Union Rags  who has won six of his seven starts from distances of six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles. But Hronis Racing and Sadler found an emerging handicap star in Higher Power, who delivered a 5 1/4-length victory in the Aug. 17 Pacific Classic, securing his first top-level win.

Sadler will return Catalina Cruiser to sprinting in the seven-furlong Pat O'Brien. Jockey Flavien Prat will be aboard for the first time.

The Pat O'Brien is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" race to the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1). Last year's Dirt Mile marked the lone loss in Catalina Cruiser's career when he faded to sixth as the 4-5 favorite in the one-turn test at Churchill Downs. This year's Dirt Mile will be contested at two turns at Santa Anita Park.

Catalina Cruiser is not the only Pat O'Brien winner in the field. The 2017 victor, Giant Expectations, returns to Southern California after picking up stakes placings this season in starts at Oaklawn Park, Belmont Park, and Santa Anita. Trained by Peter Eurton, Giant Expectations rallied from sixth to win the 2017 Pat O'Brien.

"He's training well, and he's run some very productive races since he won it last time," Eurton said of the New York-bred son of Frost Giant  who finished a close second in the Commentator Stakes for state-breds May 27 at Belmont. "He fell to his nose leaving the gate, grabbed both quarters, lost a lot of ground, went five wide around the turn, and got beat an inch. He's probably better at one-turn, seven-eighths than he is at a mile or around two turns. He likes this track, so we'll see."

Trainer Bob Baffert sends out two-time grade 2 winner American Anthem off an allowance-level win July 20 at Del Mar, and trainer Peter Miller sends out Jalen Journey off a third-place finish in the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) July 27 at Del Mar.

Rounding out the field are Lieutenant Dan, who has won a pair of stakes for California-breds this season, grade 3 winner Chief Cicatriz, and grade 1-placed Seven Trumpets.

Entries: Pat O'Brien S. (G2)

Del Mar, Saturday, August 24, 2019, Race 9

• Grade II
• 7f
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 6:13 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Lieutenant Dan (CA)	Abel Cedillo	116	Steven Miyadi	20/1
2	2Chief Cicatriz (KY)	Ruben Fuentes	119	Shawn H. Davis	20/1
3	3Jalen Journey (FL)	Norberto Arroyo, Jr.	119	Peter Miller	5/1
4	4Giant Expectations (NY)	Drayden Van Dyke	119	Peter Eurton	7/2
5	5Seven Trumpets (KY)	Victor Espinoza	119	Dale L. Romans	15/1
6	6American Anthem (KY)	Rafael Bejarano	119	Bob Baffert	4/1
7	7Catalina Cruiser (KY)	Flavien Prat	121	John W. Sadler	4/5