10 trip note horses to follow at Del Mar
As competitive racing has returned to California, it is more important than ever to take good trip notes. Below we analyze 10 horses who ran better than the form appears during the first few weeks of the 2021 summer Del Mar meet. Save these horses to watch and bet them back next time out.
Queen Goddess
Michael McCarthy's debuting filly did not take much money while asked to route, but she was likely best while making quite the impression. She did not break well, had to wait behind horses and closed with a purpose to be second. She will not be a maiden for long and is a reliable single in her next start at a similar level.
This gelding was claimed by trainer William Morey specifically for Del Mar and ran deceptively well in his first start in California. He was further back than usual, went extremely wide from a wide draw and was the only horse in the race closing well to finish third. Expect Morey to spot him aggressively to win next time out.
This colt was well meant in the Oceanside Stakes and has proven to be far more effective over the turf. He carved out fast fractions from a wide draw and dug in late in a race that was completely dominated by closers. Del Mar's turf course tends to be more forgiving to frontrunners later in the meet and this runner should improve with a better pace setup.
Warren's Candy Man
It was difficult to close on the main track during opening weekend at Del Mar. This runner was shuffled back to last in a race dominated up front and did well to run a competitive third. He will be tough to beat at the same level next time out.
Lincoln Hawk, Wyfire and Spirit Maker
This race was loaded with speed on paper, but it never materialized. They crawled through a 49.02-second opening half-mile leaving Lincoln Hawk and Spirit Maker with no chance from the back of the pack. Both horses closed well into a slow pace while making their first starts after breaking maiden. Lincoln Hawk was a little better, but Spirit Maker was running off a layoff. Wyfire also should be respected while running a strong race in his route debut. He was interfered with early and never looked comfortable while running fourth. All three horses are live the next time they run, hopefully in separate spots.
This runner has been sitting on a victory and covered much more ground than the winner in this race while running second. The gelding is due to save some ground and will break maiden next out.
This race is a total toss for this talented California-bred filly. She is much better routing and trainer Walter Solis said she was only in this spot because there were no other races on the calendar to run in. She broke slowly, but she held her own in a race dominated up front. She will return to a route next time and will be ultra tough.
This gelding won his first start in California for trainer Phil D'Amato while covering more ground than anyone. He was much the best Thursday and should continue to improve. Look for him to seamlessly jump up to the next class level.