Acclimate punches Breeders' Cup ticket with Del Mar Handicap upset
Acclimate continued
his big summer with a front-running victory in the Grade 2, $250,000 Del
Mar Handicap at Del Mar on Saturday. With the win, the
5-year-old gelding has gone from modest allowance horse to earning a
berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf starting gate.
Acclimate
and Florent Geroux went straight to the front in the 1 3/8-mile
journey and raced on a clear lead through fractions of :24.12, :47.70
and 1:11.97. Ritzy A.P. and Blended Citizen took up stalking
positions while tracking through a mile in 1:36.15.
Meanwhile,
favored The Great Day and John Velasquez raced near the back of the
pack and had just one horse beat entering the turn for the
stretch.
Acclimate continued to motor on the lead and
quickened into the stretch, opening up on the field before holding
off a belated rally from Oscar Dominguez. Ritzy A.P and Blended
Citizen held second and third, respectively. Acclimate completed the
trip in 2:12.71 and paid $16.60 to win.
“That
was the game plan, to take it to them and go to the lead," trainer Phil D'Amato told TVG. "That's what he does, and Florent was masterful
out there, that's why he's one of the best."
By
Acclimation, Acclimate had been racing almost exclusively at a mile
on the turf against Southern California allowance company before
stretching out for his first-ever stakes try in the 1 3/4-mile San
Juan Capistrano (G3) at Santa Anita on June. The decision paid off as
he beat Oscar Dominguez by a half-length at 9-1.
Acclimate has
won 6-of-16 starts and the winner's share nearly doubled his earnings
to $325,872 for owners The Ellwood Johnson Trust and Timmy Time.
D'Amato relished the all-expenses paid berth into the Breeders' Cup
Turf that was earned.
"It's
huge, this is what we all live for," D'Amato said. "This is
what the owners are in here for, and myself. Now we're in the big
dance."