Sharp Samurai Continues to Roll in Del Mar Derby

With every step up the class ladder, Sharp Samurai has upped his game. The $250,000 Del Mar Derby (G2T) Sept. 3 was just the most recent step.

Facing arguably the toughest competition of his career, the First Samurai  gelding once again met the challenge.

With a wide move in the final turn under Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, the Mark Glatt-trained gelding found the wire first in his third straight stakes trip over turf in Southern California and bested graded winner Big Score by a half-length. Multiple stakes winner Bowies Hero checked in third, another half-length back.

"He likes the stalking trip and he's been showing us a turn of foot that we didn't realize he had," said Stevens, who was also aboard for Sharp Samurai's victories in the June 10 Rainbow Stakes and Aug. 6 La Jolla Handicap (G3T). "(Glatt) asked me how I saw the race coming up and I told him I wasn't sure. But it unfolded about right. I got a jump on (Big Score) and that was key."

Monster Man appeared to have the lead to himself in the 1 1/8-mile test, as he ran the first quarter in :24.10, but Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza had other ideas as the field entered the backstretch. Initially stalking on the rail behind the early leader aboard Harbour Master, Espinoza got the Harbour Watch colt to the outside and rushed up in the backstretch to put his head in front through a half in :48.91. Monster Man retook the lead through six furlongs in 1:12.51, but the added pressure set the race up perfectly for the group of classy closers.

Big Score and Bowies Hero were closer up during the early running, but could not get to Sharp Samurai in the stretch following Stevens' wide move in the final turn. Sharp Samurai finished off the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.03.

"(Big Score) ran a winning race," said jockey Flavien Prat. "The winner got the jump on me and that was probably the difference. I was down inside saving ground. Maybe if I went out instead of in (it) would have made a difference."

Colonist closed from seventh to finish fourth and was followed by Fashion Business, Ritzy A. P., Double Touch, Monster Man, Marckie's Water, and Harbour Master, to complete the order of finish.

Bred in Kentucky by Cudney Stables, out of the Street Cry (IRE) mare Secret Wish, Sharp Samurai now has five wins from eight starts and $345,870 in earnings.

"We took our time with this horse and made the right decisions," Glatt said of Sharp Samurai, who he owns in partnership with Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal. "It doesn't always work, but this is very exciting."