Dance With Fate Off the Bench for San Diego
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Toyota Blue Grass (gr. I) winner Dance With Fate, off since a sixth-place effort in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), tackles older horses for the first time in the $200,000 San Diego Handicap (gr. II) July 26 at Del Mar.
The San Diego, the major prep locally for the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic (gr. I) Aug. 24, will be contested at 1 1/16 miles over the Polytrack. A field of 11, including recent graded winners Frac Daddy, Imperative, and Summer Hit, make this a difficult test for the returning Dance With Fate. Post time for the San Diego, the eighth on a 10-race card, is tentatively set for 5:30 p.m. PDT.
Dance With Fate broke his maiden in his second start on Del Mar's Polytrack last August, and he went on to run second in the Del Mar Futurity (gr. I) in his next start. Following a second in the FrontRunner (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park in the fall, he wrapped up the season finishing eighth after a terrible start in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I).
Trainer Peter Eurton brought the Florida-bred Two Step Salsa colt back in January, winning a one-mile allowance on turf at Santa Anita. Returned to a synthetic track at Golden Gate Fields, Dance With Fate used a runner-up finish in the El Camino Real Derby (gr. I) as a springboard to the Blue Grass at Keeneland April 12. Dance With Fate came from well back in a 14-horse field with a sweeping move over the Polytrack to clear his rivals by nearly two lengths.
Eurton reluctantly elected to run his synthetic track specialist in the May 3 Kentucky Derby but Dance With Fate suffered through a rough trip while running on late for a respectable finish, 6 1/4 lengths behind California Chrome. The colt has been at Santa Anita since returning from Louisville and training decently enough after a breather. Shipped to Del Mar recently, though, he perked up with a bullet five-furlong move in :58 2/5 July 19, the fastest of 90 at the distance.
Corey Nakatani will be back aboard Dance With Fate for the return race, and they will break from post 6 with 116 pounds. Dance With Fate, owned by Sharon Alesia, Bran Jam Stable, and Ciaglia Racing, has three wins and three seconds from nine lifetime starts and earnings of $680,050. He is the lone 3-year-old in the San Diego lineup.
Frac Daddy ships in from Kentucky for trainer Ken McPeek after suffering his first loss in four synthetic track races, when second at 3-20 odds in the 1 1/4-mile Dominion Day Stakes (Can-III) July 1 at Woodbine. The 4-year-old won Woodbine's Eclipse (Can-II) at the San Diego distance a month earlier by five lengths and also took Keeneland's Ben Ali (gr. III) by nearly five in April.
A five-time winner with six seconds from 17 lifetime starts and earnings of $674,036, the Magic City Thoroughbred Partners' son of Scat Daddy showed a liking for the Del Mar surface with a five-furlong drill in :59 4/5 July 21. Joe Talamo has the call on the 121-pound highweight from gate 3.
Impressive winner of the rich Charles Town Classic (gr. II) at odds of 26-1 over Game On Dude April 19, Imperative came back to earth in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita (gr. I) last out, finishing a distant third. George Papaprodromou trains the 4-year-old Bernardini gelding for KM Racing Enterprise. Kent Desormeaux is the regular rider.
Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer sends California-bred Summer Hit, winner of the Berkeley Handicap and All-American Stakes (both gr. III) at Golden Gate Fields. Summer Hit was most recently third in the Oak Tree Stakes at the Pleasanton fair meet June 21. Rafael Bejarano picks up the mount on the 5-year-old Bertrando gelding.
The San Diego also marks the return of Kaleem Shah's Fed Biz, who has not raced since finishing a disappointing sixth in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I) Nov. 1. The 5-year-old son of Giant's Causeway is 2-for-2 over the Del Mar main track, winning the seven-furlong Pat O'Brien Stakes (gr. II) before the Breeders' Cup for Hall of Fame conditioner Bob Baffert. Martin Garcia retains the mount from the far outside post.
Handsome Mike, closing in on $1 million in career earnings for Reddam Racing and trainer Doug O'Neill, shows up here after being withdrawn from the Del Mar Paddock Sale the night of July 20. The 5-year-old son of Scat Daddy comes off a second to Sky Kingdom in the American Flag Stakes at Los Alamitos Race Course July 4.
[raceEntries date="7/26/2014" country="USA" trackid="DMR" racenumber="8"]