Lady Prancealot Looms Large Over Mabee Field
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Lady Prancealot
As the only graded stakes winner in the field of eight entered for the $150,000 John C. Mabee Stakes (G2T) on the Sept. 5 Del Mar card, Lady Prancealot looms large in the 1 1/8-mile test for older fillies and mares on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course.
The race, won the past two years by standout Vasilika, will be run for the 63rd time overall and the 18th time since being renamed for one of the founding fathers of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. It will be offered as race 10 on the 11-race program.
The 124-pound highweight trained by Richard Baltas, grade 1 winner Lady Prancealot will be ridden by Umberto Rispoli, a two-time champion in his native Italy who is in the running with Flavien Prat for leading rider at Del Mar.
The 5-year-old mare has been competitive but winless in three starts this year and is coming off a fast-closing fourth in the Yellow Ribbon Handicap (G2T). In 2019, Lady Prancealot won or placed in seven of eight starts, with her four victories highlighted by a season-ending victory in the American Oaks (G1T) at Santa Anita Park. She has a career tally of 5-4-3 in 20 starts, with earnings of $574,841.
A 5-year-old racing for an eight-member ownership entity, Lady Prancealot is a daughter of Sir Prancealot , who stood at Ireland's Tally Ho Stud until spending two years in Australia before being brought to California's San Miguel Stud for the 2020 breeding season. Lady Prancealot was bred by Tally Ho Stud.
The other stakes winner in the Mabee is Pulpit Rider, a California-bred daughter of Lucky Pulpit whose three stakes triumphs include Del Mar's Solano Beach Stakes Aug. 15. The 5-year-old mare has bankrolled $462,677 for owner-breeders Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams.
Stakes-placed runners seeking their first stakes win in the race are Zee Drop, second-place finisher in the Royal Heroine Stakes (G2T) last year; multiple stakes-placed Don't Blame Judy; and Quick, who ran second in the CTT and TOC Stakes Aug. 16.
Raymundos Secret, Catch the Eye, and Meal Ticket round out the field.
Making her second start off a 10-month layoff, Raymundos Secret has stakes experience, including an eighth-place finish in the Del Mar Oaks (G1T) at the same 1 1/8-mile distance over the course a year ago. In that effort, the Florida-bred daughter of Treasure Beach made the pace for a mile before being overtaken in the final eighth-mile. She has won four of six starts, with no placings.
"She's grown up since then and seems like a much kinder filly to rate now," said Phil D'Amato, who trains the 4-year-old for Sierra Racing and Sterling Stables. "I'm hoping that with her being more mature, and showing she can relax, that will help her finish better."
Del Mar, Saturday, September 05, 2020, Race 10Entries: John C. Mabee S. (G2T)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
Catch the Eye (KY)
J.C. Diaz, Jr.
120
David E. Hofmans
-
2
Lady Prancealot (IRE)
UMBERTO RISPOLI
124
Richard Baltas
-
3
Don't Blame Judy (KY)
Drayden Van Dyke
120
J. Eric Kruljac
-
4
Pulpit Rider (CA)
Juan J. Hernandez
120
Mike Puype
-
5
Zee Drop (KY)
Abel Cedillo
120
Philip D'Amato
-
6
Meal Ticket (FL)
Tiago Josue Pereira
120
Matthew Chew
-
7
Quick (GB)
Jose Valdivia, Jr.
120
John W. Sadler
-
8
Raymundos Secret (FL)
Flavien Prat
120
Philip D'Amato
-
