Hunt Holds Off He Will to Win Seabiscuit Handicap

Michael House's Hunt may have been overmatched in his last two assignments, but returned to his winning form Nov. 26 in the $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap (G2T) at Del Mar.

With a stalking trip in fourth under jockey Flavien Prat, as Phil D'Amato-trained stablemate Pee Wee Reese set the pace up front, Hunt made a three-wide move into the stretch, passed his barnmate and just held off a fast-closing He Will to win by a nose.

The stalk-and-pounce win was reminiscent of the Dark Angel (IRE) gelding's two graded victories over the summer at Del Mar, when he won the Eddie Read (G2T) and the Del Mar Handicap (G2T).

"To me this was in his wheelhouse, anywhere from a mile to a mile and an eighth," D'Amato said of the 1 1/16-mile Seabiscuit, which Hunt finished off in 1:41.03. "This is what he relishes and he also loves this turf course. I thought Flavien gave him a great ride. That's exactly what he wants to do—stalk and pounce—and he just barely got the job done."

The Jerry Hollendorfer-trained He Will raced in fifth, 6 1/2 lengths off Pee Wee Reese, behind fractions of :24.09, :47.90, and 1:11.28 through six furlongs. With four lengths to make up with a furlong to run, He Will surged on the outside but just missed.

"Oh man. I thought I was going to get it for sure," said He Will's jockey, Mike Smith. "He wouldn't put his head down. He runs with his head up. If he put it down, he's the winner."

The top pair finished a length ahead of Pee Wee Reese, who was followed by Om, Win the Space, and Mr. Roary, to complete the order of finish.

"The race set up and went just about the way we thought it would," Prat said. "I was in a good spot with him, but the finish was close—very close. He was brave at the end."

Pee Wee Reese entered the race off breakthrough win in the July 4 American Stakes (G3T) at Santa Anita Park and went off as the 7-5 favorite.

"(It was a) really good try for him, especially coming off the layoff," said Pee Wee Reese's jockey, Joe Talamo. "He ran hard."

Bred in Ireland by Michael O'Callaghan, out of the Mansiya (GB) mare Vettori (IRE), Hunt now has an 8-5-3 record from 26 starts with $668,764 in earnings. The Seabiscuit was D'Amato's 20th stakes win at Del Mar and 23rd for Prat, the track's leading rider entering closing day Sunday.