Dressed in Hermes Gets Oceanside Class Relief

Dressed in Hermes likes Del Mar, where he won the Cecil B. DeMille Stakes (gr. IIIT) last year to claim his greatest victory to date.

The 3-year-old son of Hat Trick returns to the seaside track July 15 on opening day with a drop in class to the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes, but will face a loaded field as he seeks a return to the winner's circle. A full field of 14 plus two also-eligibles entered the one-mile Oceanside for 3-year-olds, with Dressed in Hermes named the 124-pound co-highweight along with the comebacking Hollywood Don.

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will be aboard Dressed in Hermes for trainer Janet Armstrong from post 9; he rode the bay gelding in his DeMille victory and to take the March 13 Pasadena Stakes at Santa Anita Park, Dressed in Hermes' only win from four starts this season. Those included a last-out sixth—albeit by just 1 3/4 lengths—in the June 4 Pennine Ridge Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Belmont Park and a seventh in the May 7 American Turf (gr. IIT) at Churchill Downs.

Prior to his Pasadena score, his connections tried him back on dirt for a fourth in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (gr. III); he also gave a good account for himself one month prior with a fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IT).

LEWYN: Dressed in Hermes Up Late for DeMille Win

Hollywood Don, winner of the 2015 Del Mar Juvenile Turf Stakes on the grass for trainer Peter Miller, makes his return after going to the sidelines following a sixth in the Dec. 19 Los Alamitos Futurity (gr. I). The Tapit   colt went from that Del Mar victory to a third on dirt in the FrontRunner Stakes (gr. I) behind eventual Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Nyquist, then ran ninth in the Juvenile Turf before his return to dirt at Los Al.

Brice Blanc, who rode him in his first four starts, gets the return call for Calumet Farm and Rockingham Ranch from post 10.

One intriguing contender is Bienstock, Winner, and Williford's Moonlight Drive, an Italian-bred son of Red Rocks who won his stateside debut for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert Feb. 15 in a one-mile allowance race on the Santa Anita gras after five runs in France. Rafael Bejarano, who rode him to that first U.S. win, will be aboard again from post 2.