Graduation winner Continental Divide 5-2 favorite in I'm Smokin

Graduation Stakes winner Continental Divide was accorded the 5-2 favorite’s role on the morning line of oddsmaker Russ Hudak for Friday’s featured $100,000 I’m Smokin Stakes for California-bred 2-year-olds.

Continental Divide, trained by Jim Cassidy for Deron Pearson’s DP Racing, overcame a wide trip to take over the lead at the top of the stretch and win by 1 ¾ lengths in the 5 ½-furlong Graduation. The I’m Smokin is a 6-furlong sprint.

“We had options to go with him in the grass race ($100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Turf, September 3), but we decided to stay with Cal-breds,” Cassidy said Wednesday. “I think it’s best to give him a chance to mature a little bit before we go against the big boys.

“He was wide the whole trip (in the Graduation) and still won, so it looks to be a good spot for him.”

The field from the rail: Cono (Rafael Bejarano, 8-1), Sir Valentine (Martin Pedroza, 4-1), Continental Divide (Victor Espinoza, 5-2), Drizzy (Joe Talamo, 5-1), Ministersdontparty (Chantal Sutherland, 12-1), Bookies Luck (Kent Desormeaux, 10-1), Smokem (Evin Roman, 3-1), Get Em Up Scout (Brayan Pena, 20-1) and Unpossible (Catalino Martinez, 12-1).

JOCKEY AND TRAINER RACES GOING DOWN TO WIRE

Defending champions Flavien Prat and Phil D’Amato start the final week of the meeting with none-too-secure two win margins in the race for the jockey and training titles respectively.

Prat’s 28 wins put him ahead of apprentice Evin Roman and Prat’s 2016 co-champion Rafael Bejarano. But Prat will spot them the first two days of the final six remaining days of racing while sitting out a suspension that started Sunday.

Roman, seeking to win a third straight Southern California circuit meeting title and become the first apprentice winner at Del Mar in 44 years, is named on seven mounts in the eight-race Wednesday card. Bejarano, seeking to win or share a Del Mar crown for the sixth year in a row, has four mounts.

D’Amato, who saddled 23 winners to claim his first Del Mar title in 2016, has a 15-13 lead over an onrushing Baltas (five wins last week) and Doug O’Neill, who seeks his fifth Del Mar title and first since 2010.

D’Amato has two horses to saddle on the Wednesday card, Baltas and O’Neill three each.

CLOSERS – Selected works from 195 officially timed over the last three days. Monday – Bendable (3f, :37.80), Run Away (4f, :47.80), Songofthedesert (4f, :47.40), Champagne Room (5f, 1:00.00); Tuesday – Noted and Quoted (4f, :49.00), St. Patrick’s Day (5f, 1:00.40), Tatters to Riches (5f, :59.40), Soul Streit (6f, 1:12.20); Wednesday – Zatter (5f, :59.20) … Trainer Bob Baffert said he plans to have two representatives in the Del Mar Futurity, a race he has won 13 times: Zatter and Soul Streit.

Source: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club