Another Try for Metaboss in John Henry Turf

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more impressive performance in a losing effort than what Metaboss did Aug. 20 in the Del Mar Handicap (gr. IIT).

Last in a 12-horse field entering the stretch and 14 1/4 lengths back at the three-eighths pole in the 1 3/8-mile race, the Street Boss   colt unleashed a stunning rally on the outside only to come up a nose short against the frontrunning Ashleyluvssugar at the wire.

It wasn't just the $150,000 winner's share that stung trainer Phil D'Amato and an ownership group that includes Blue Skies Stables and MRS Stables. It also cost them a fees-paid berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT), but D'Amato is content to suffer through many more stressful stretch runs from Metaboss, and he's set to take on Ashleyluvssugar again in the $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship (gr. IIT) Oct. 2 at Santa Anita Park.

"With his style, that's the nature of the beast," D'Amato said of the 4-year-old closer, who was on the Triple Crown trail for a moment in 2015 after he won the El Camino Real Derby (gr. III) for trainer Jeff Bonde before shipping east, where he went winless in three troubled turf trips for Michael Dickinson. "He still has the same style. It's just, anytime you come from behind, you run the risk of traffic."

In his first start for D'Amato, Metaboss closed from 11th, as many as 10 lengths back, to win a Del Mar conditional allowance on grass July 23, but it paled in comparison to his burst in the Del Mar Handicap.

LEWYN: Ashleyluvssugar Holds Tough in Del Mar 'Cap

"That last three sixteenths was one of the biggest turns of foot I've ever seen from one of my horses," said D'Amato, who indicated he's still eyeing the Breeders' Cup Turf if Metaboss runs well Sunday. "That impressed me and stamped him in my mind as a marathon horse. (Jockey) Rafael (Bejarano) got to know him when he won down at Del Mar and he couldn't believe the turn of foot he displayed in the last race there. It's made him more confident. We're not going to change his style."

Ashleyluvssugar awaits again, along with fellow multiple graded winner Flamboyant (eighth in the Del Mar Handicap) and East Coast shipper Messi, the last-out winner of the Sky Classic Stakes (Can-IIT) at Woodbine for trainer Graham Motion. Texas Ryano (third), El Huerfano (fourth), and Wanstead Gardens (fifth) also return from the Del Mar Handicap.

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Reddam Racing homebred Ralis is not only the lone grade I winner in the field, but also the only 3-year-old taking on older rivals in the 1 1/4-mile turf test. The California-bred Square Eddie   colt trained by Doug O'Neill won the Hopeful (gr. I) on the Saratoga Race Course dirt in 2015, but has not won in nine starts since, including his last four, all on grass. But Ralis hasn't been far off. In those four starts, he was a nose back in second twice in stakes, and last time out finished a half-length second behind Free Rose in the Del Mar Derby (gr. IIT).

Multiple graded stakes-placed Twentytwentyvision and last-out allowance winner A Red Tie Day complete the field.