Inside The Trip: Del Mar Derby Dance

Gabriel Charles won the first divsion of the Del Mar Derby on the final weekend of Del Mar's meet (Photos courtesy Eclipse Sportswire).

Last week’s divided Del Mar Derbys provided two very different results – Gabriel Charles rallied from almost seven lengths off the pace to run down Redwood Kitten for the victory in the first division, while Ethnic Dance made every yard of the running, setting soft fractions, and stole the second division. The data from the second division of the Del Mar Derby is significantly more interesting, but let’s offer one note on the first division … first.

Gabriel Charles won an opening day division of the Oceanside Stakes in similar fashion to his Del Mar Derby score. In that event, he closed from off the pace, flashing home with a final eighth in 10.99 seconds, which has stood as the fastest final furlong of the meeting, and the fastest from at least the last two Del Mar meets. With an eighth to go, Gabriel Charles was still about five lengths behind the leader at the time, made up that ground and won by a head. Not surprisingly, he was dispatched a warm 1.90-to-1 favorite for the first Del Mar Derby division and did not disappoint.

The second division of the Del Mar Derby was over after the break – rail-drawn Ethnic Dance went to the lead unchallenged and was allowed to dictate soft fractions. The son of Tribal Rule waltzed through three consecutive splits over 24 seconds before quickening away from the competition to win by 1 ¼ lengths. While the pace of this event made it almost impossible for anyone to catch Ethnic Dance, the data from fourth-place finisher Kid Dreams, fifth-placer General Election, and sixth-home Dorsett emerges as the most compelling in the race. Those three horses were beaten, 1 ½, two, and 2 ½ lengths, respectively, but all covered extra ground. Take note of the chart below which plots Ethnic Dance’s race vitals along with those of the also-rans.