O'Neill Stablemates to Battle in Best Pal

With a slew of early-blooming 2-year-olds in his stable, it's no surprise Doug O'Neill has two prominent runners entered in Southern California's first graded race for young horses in the $200,000 Best Pal Stakes (gr. II) at Del Mar Aug. 8.



Found Money and Nyquist, both owned by Reddam Racing, enter the Best Pal without a loss.



A Square Eddie   homebred for Reddam, Found Money broke his maiden at first asking May 15 at Santa Anita Park, then turned around five weeks later to take the Santa Anita Juvenile Stakes by an impressive 1 3/4 lengths over stablemate Mrazek, another son of Square Eddie. The races were at 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 furlongs, respectively, and he'll stretch out to 6 1/2 for the first time in the Best Pal, but so will the rest of the six-colt field.



"He's got the right sire, that's for sure," O'Neill said. "I can't say enough about Square Eddie. He's as hot as can be."



Nyquist only has a maiden score on his résumé, from when he dueled for the lead in a five-furlong event at Santa Anita June 5 and held on to win by a head. The son of Uncle Mo  , bred in Kentucky by Summerhill Farm, was a $400,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Florida 2015 selected 2-year-olds in training sale.



"We paid a lot of money for him, because he was a hot prospect and he's been training great," O'Neill said.



O'Neill's brother, Dennis, made the purchase for Reddam.



"It's a credit to my brother Dennis, who does all the scouting and gets us good prospects," O'Neill said. "And a credit to Paul Reddam and Zillah Reddam for their support and patience."



Three other horses are coming into the Best Pal off maiden wins, most notably Big Chief Racing's Swipe, who won his first race July 12 at Los Alamitos Race Course, where the son of Birdstone   defeated Mrazek by a head in the 5 1/2-furlong Summer Juvenile Championship Stakes. One race prior, Swiped finished third, two lengths behind second-place Paynes Prairie in the Tremont Stakes at Belmont Park June 5. Paynes Prairie bounced back with a maiden special weight win at Belmont July 4 and ships in from the East Coast for the Best Pal.



Annie's Candy, who broke his maiden at Los Alamitos July 11 after two seconds at Santa Anita to start his career, and Bistraya, who was fifth in his debut at Del Mar July 18, complete the field.