Catalina Cruiser Powerful in San Diego Victory
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Catalina Cruiser wins the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar
Sometimes things just work out.
When an allowance race didn't fill for Hronis Racing's undefeated but inexperienced Catalina Cruiser, trainer John Sadler entered three in the $200,000 San Diego Handicap (G2), with the headliner—or so it seemed, at the time—multiple grade 1 winner Accelerate.
But he didn't want to run Accelerate against his younger but still unproven stablemate, so the headliner, along with third-stringer Curlin Rules, were scratched.
The only horse carrying the green and white Hronis silks July 21 at Del Mar was Catalina Cruiser, the strapping chestnut son of Union Rags , and he carried them well.
He took command early in the 1 1/16-mile test scratched down to a field of five, dictated the pace through the final turn under jockey Drayden Van Dyke, and surged home in the stretch to win by 6 3/4 lengths over grade 2 winner Dr. Dorr.
"This horse's nickname was 'the best horse nobody knows about,'" Sadler said. "And then today we changed it to 'the next big thing.' We've loved this horse from day one. He's shown us a lot—a lot—of potential. We've had to be patient with him, but today he showed us what we thought he could do."
The white-blazed colt broke from the rail but immediately went to the front to set fractions of :23.07, :47.20, and 1:11.64 through six furlongs. Dr. Dorr, the April 28 Californian Stakes (G2) winner, did his best to keep up as he stalked the pace in second, but he was no match late in the final turn.
"My horse tried hard," said Dr. Dorr's jockey, Joe Talamo. "Hat's off to the winner. He ran a huge race."
At the furlong pole, Catalina Cruiser was four lengths ahead, and he widened his margin to the wire to finish the distance in 1:42.95. Another 1 3/4 lengths behind Dr. Dorr came Bob Baffert stablemate Dabster, who was followed by Two Thirty Five and Harlan Punch to complete the order of finish. Along with the Sadler pair, El Huerfano, Prince of Arabia, and Sharp Samurai were scratched.
"He felt good all the way—nice and relaxed," Van Dyke said. "He's a super-talented horse. I knew that right from the beginning. John said, 'Just get him comfortable.' He didn't care if I was in front or coming from off of it. I figured we'd be in front, as long as someone didn't do something stupid. Then he really pulled me into that first turn, and he was going easy from there."
The San Diego was Catalina Cruiser's third win in three starts and his first try against stakes competition. He won his debut sprinting in October by 2 1/4 lengths, then didn't re-emerge until a May 19 optional-claiming allowance sprint he won by the same margin. But Sadler said he never considered the colt a sprinter.
"When the race didn't fill for him on Sunday, he trained so beautifully for this meet, I didn't want to keep him in the barn for three or four more weeks and then it not fill again," Sadler said. "Today he had to jump in the deep end of the pool, and he swam just fine. ... What we were seeing in the sprint races was a route horse that could win short, because he's really good."
Bred in Kentucky by W. S. Farish out of the Mineshaft mare Sea Gull, Catalina Cruiser now has $183,600 in earnings. He was a $370,000 purchase by Martin Anthony from Lane's End's consignment to the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Sadler said Catalina Cruiser is "probably the biggest horse in Southern California" at about 1,250 pounds, which led to his slow development, along with a knee "flake" after his first start, according to the trainer.
"He's a big horse, he took time, and we gave him time," Sadler said. "He's like an NFL linebacker. But he's like that at 14. You have to wait a few years."
So, with two top handicap horses in the barn and the San Diego a traditional prep for the Aug. 18 TVG Pacific Classic (G1), could a showdown be ahead at Del Mar?
Not so fast. Accelerate is nominated for the Aug. 4 Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, and could run on the East coast instead.
"We're not going to run two in the Pacific Classic. We're going to run one horse—to be determined," Sadler said.