Avanzare Goes Wide to Win Del Mar Mile
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Donato Lanni and John Youngblood's Avanzare shrugged off a nearly seven-month layoff to claim his second straight grade II turf score in the $200,000 Del Mar Mile Handicap Aug. 23.
Trained by Tom Proctor, the 5-year-old Grand Reward gelding made a sweeping move five wide exiting the final turn and outlasted grade I winner Talco to win by a half-length. Di Giorgio, the longest shot on the board at 41-1, closed to come in third, a length back.
According to winning jockey Gary Stevens, Avanzare had been off for such a long time recovering from throat surgery. Stevens was confident because he'd been working the horse in the mornings.
"I worked him two weeks ago. ... I knew he was fit," Stevens said. "Proctor put the pressure on me. He said, 'If you get the trip, he'll win.' "
Avanzare, who won the Arcadia Stakes (gr. IIT) at Santa Anita Park last time out Jan. 31, sat in seventh on the backstretch of the Del Mar Mile, about a half-length in front of Talco, as Marchman set fractions of :23.38, :47.77, and 1:11.52 through six furlongs. The eventual top two finishers moved in tandem in the final turn, but Talco—winner of the Shoemaker Mile (gr. IT) at Santa Anita last time out June 13—went a lane wider than Avanzare and could not pass the winner. Avanzare hit the wire in 1:35.22 on a turf course rated firm.
"I lost some ground coming out of the turn, but the horse to beat, Talco, was on my outside and he was going wider than I was, so I took the chance and it worked out," Stevens said.
The winner paid $15.40, $7.20, and $5 across the board. Talco brought $3.20 and $3, while Di Giorgio returned $10.60 to show.
Kulik Lodge closed to finish fourth, followed by 3-2 favorite Bal a Bali, Jimmy Bouncer, Winning Prize, Marchman, and Wilkinson.
Bred in Kentucky, out of the Theatrical mare Turn the Tide, Avanzare has a 7-3-2 record from 13 starts and earnings of $505,180.
Pure Tactics broke down during the race, taking an awkward step nearing the second turn, according to the Equibase chart. He fractured a sesamoid in his left hind leg and was euthanized. Bred in Texas, the 6-year-old son of Pure Prize was owned by Nita Winner LLC and trained by Doug O'Neill. He won his race prior to the Del Mar Mile, the Wickerr Stakes at Del Mar July 22.