Offlee Naughty Awfully Tough in San Juan Capistrano

James and Donna Daniell's Offlee Naughty  will seek to continue his reign as king of the Southern California turf stayers in the $100,000 San Juan Capistrano Stakes (G3T) June 18 at Santa Anita Park.

Offlee Naughty has struck his best stride as a 5-year-old, winning his last three races, including two graded stakes races. What makes the Michael McCarthy trainee even more impressive is the fact that he continues to find a way to win despite what traffic challenges. In both the 1 1/4-mile Charles Whittingham Stakes (G2T) April 8 and 1 1/2-mile San Luis Rey Stakes (G3T) May 13 the son of Flashback  prevailed convincingly despite losing his momentum at the five-sixteenths pole.

Stretching out to 1 3/4 miles in the San Juan Capistrano, Offlee Naughty, partnered with jockey Umberto Rispoli, will rematch against familiar foes in Sunday's contest as the 2-4 finishers in the San Luis Rey return for revenge. Though while San Luis Rey runner-up and Brazilian group 1 victor Planetario  and fourth-place finisher Opry  present solid challenges, the biggest adversary could be Offlee Naughty's own barnmate, the distance-loving filly Duvet Day .

Duvet Day, an Irish-bred closer type that is also often hampered by troubled trips, enters the San Juan Capistrano off a late-charging second-place effort in the 1 1/2-mile Santa Barbara Stakes over this course April 30. Three starts back, the daughter of Starspangledbanner  rallied to a handy score in the 1 1/2-mile Astra Stakes.