Big League hits a home run in his Del Mar debut

Big League, a 2-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Speightstown owned by Rockingham Ranch and trained by Peter Miller, was an impressive 3 ½-length winner debuting in Saturday’s third race under Norberto Arroyo, Jr. in 1:03.48 for  5 ½ furlongs.

“It looked like he did it pretty easily and he came out of it well,” Miller said Sunday morning. “He’s definitely a Futurity candidate but we’re looking at the Best Pal first.”

The 6 ½-furlong Grade II $200,000 Best Pal is Saturday, August 13, the seven-furlong Grade I $300,000 Del Mar Futurity on Labor Day, Monday, September 5, closing day of the summer meeting.

BLUEGRASS BRONCO OUT; CROSBY FIELD REDUCED TO EIGHT
 

As he had indicated he would, trainer David Hofmans scratched Bluegrass Bronco from Sunday’s featured Grade I $300,000  Bing Crosby Stakes.

The field for the 71st running of the six-furlong event named for the track founder, which often determines the sprint champion of the meeting, was thus reduced to eight.

From the rail out: Justin Squared (Martin Pedroza, 15-1), Subtle Indian (Mike Smith, 5-2), Dream Saturday (Martin Garcia, 6-1), Indexical (Santiago Gonzalez, 10-1), Kaabraaj (Edwin Maldonado, 20-1), Home Run Kitten (Joe Talamo, 8-1), Lord Nelson (Flavien Prat, 2-1) and Alsvid (Chris Landeros, 5-1).

REDDAM-O’NEILL DOUBLE UP SEEKING THIRD STRAIGHT GRADUATION
 

Wake Up Nick (2014) and Mrazek (2015) won the last two runnings of the Graduation Stakes for the connections of owner J. Paul Reddam, trainer Doug O’Neill and jockey Mario Gutierrez.

In Wednesday’s 65th running of the $100,000, 5 ½ furlong sprint for California-bred two-year-olds, that trio will try to make it three in a row with Green With Eddie, a Square Eddie colt coming in off a runner-up finish to  California Diamond in the Santa Anita Juvenile on July 9 at Santa Anita.

Reddam and O’Neill have an additional opportunity with Sizzlin Square, a maiden winner at Santa Anita on July 2.

The field from the rail: Sizzlin Square (Flavien Prat), Tchula Sunset (Mike Smith), California Diamond (Edwin Maldonado), Dutt Bart (Kent Desormeaux), Milton Freewater (Rafael Bejarano), Exotic Ghost (Santiago Gonzalez) and Green With Eddie (Mario Gutierrez).

CLOSERS –  California Chrome trainer Art Sherman on Stellar Wind’s upset of Beholder in the Clement L. Hirsch: “Everybody gets beat in this game as we all know. I felt sorry for her (Beholder) to lose, but she ran a hell of a race” … In addition to Stellar Wind, jockey Victor Espinoza also won Saturday on Tribalist ($5.80) in the fifth race and is tied for fourth with Rafael Bejarano in the jockey standings with eight wins … Del Mar-based riders  will be aboard half the field, coincidentally the three morning line favorites, in Sunday’s $1 million Grade I Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. Mario Gutierrez will ride Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist (6-5), Kent Desormeaux will be in the irons for Preakness Stakes winner Exaggerator (5-2) and Rafael Bejarano on American Freedom (3-1).  Bejarano has four scheduled mounts before the Haskell (approximate post time 2:47 Pacific), Gutierrez and Desormeaux one preliminary mount each … Selected workouts from 229 officially timed on the main track and 29 on turf Sunday morning: Dirt -- Little Curlin (4f, :49.80), Ohio (4f, :49.20), Stays In Vegas (4f, :49.80), Masochistic (5f, 1:00.40), Majestic Kitten (6f, 1:11.0); Turf – Monster Bea (4f, :50.00), Nancy From Nairobi (4f, :52.00), Shrinking Violet (4f, :48.60), Elektrum (5f, 1:03.20), Entrechat (5f, 1:02.60), Obviously (5f, 1:00.20), Havana Belle (6f, 1:16.00) and Power Ped (7f, 1:29.80).

Source: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club