Inside the Trip: Del Mar Data Standouts

Obviously and He Be Fire N Ice at the wire in the Del Mar Mile Handicap (Photo courtesy Benoit & Associates).

Obviously may have started slower than normal, but the front-running Irish-bred went to the front and stayed-on to win the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile Handicap. Perhaps most impressive, however, was He Be Fire N Ice, who rallied from off the moderate pace to finish a close second. Overall, He Be Fire N Ice ran his own final four furlongs in 45.20 seconds, and the final quarter-mile in 22.42 seconds. The California-bred son of Unusual Heat was making his first start in graded stakes company for trainer John Sadler.

Fed Biz rallied from well off the pace to win the Pat O’Brien Stakes over seven furlongs. He caught the speedy, and favored, Goldencents in the final sixteenth with an explosive turn of foot. Overall, Fed Biz ran his final quarter in 23.75 seconds and last eighth in 11.86 seconds. Both times were the fastest in the Grade 1 sprint. Somewhat notable is that the second-fastest final segments were recorded by ninth-placer Mobilized (final quarter in 24.06 seconds) and seventh-placer Drill (final eighth in 12.12 seconds).  

Sunday’s first-time starter Cause Im a Bigshot proved she might be just that, but only in subsequent starts. The daughter of Giant’s Causeway should surely improve with added distance, and it showed in the way she finished the 5 ½-furlong fourth race. While winner Antiquity came home with a final eighth in 12.64 seconds, and second-placer Silver Sails covered the closing stages in 12.87 seconds, Cause Im a Bigshot got that trip in 12.06 seconds, galloping out well past the top pair. Some added ground will surely fit this filly well in the near future.

‘King winner saved all the ground
The oft-used Trakus Twitter hashtag “#groundlossmatters” was utilized a few times last week, and the featured Play the King Stakes at Woodbine was a perfect example. Jockey David Moran utilized his mount’s natural speed and cozy rail draw to win aboard Dimension in a 10-1 upset. The three most-fancied runners in the market, second-choice Excaper, third-choice Riding the River, and favored Go Blue Or Go Home followed Dimension under the wire in that order.

Dimension’s margin over Excaper was 2 ¼ lengths. Excaper covered 30 feet more than Dimension, a distance which equates to roughly 3 ½ lengths. Third place finisher Riding The River covered 28 feet (about 3 ¼ lengths) more than Dimension and was beaten just 2 ¾ lengths. Fourth placer Go Blue Or Go Home, the 2-1 choice, was beaten six lengths and covered 46 feet (about 5 ½ lengths). Several runners from the Play the King are likely to return in the $1 million Woodbine Mile, and might face the reigning American Horse of the Year and defending champion, Wise Dan.

Recovering from Derby traffic
Our post-Kentucky Derby blog highlighted the plight of Will Take Charge, who suffered a troubled-trip while commencing a move in the late stages of the big race. In the sixteenth-mile segment from the five-sixteenths pole to the quarter pole, Will Take Charge actually recorded the fastest time (6.37), 0.03 seconds faster than eventual winner Orb. He then checked sharply off the heels of a tiring Verrazano, and recorded the 16th- slowest segment from the quarter-pole to the three-sixteenths pole, reflecting the trouble in running.

Did Will Take Charge have a Derby win in him? Maybe. Last week we learned what the son of the late Unbridled’s Song was capable of accomplishing after landing the Travers Stakes at Saratoga.