Hopeful Union Wins Del Mar Feature
Jockey Patrick Valenzuela, hero of last Sunday’s $1 million TVG Pacific Classic aboard victorious Acclamation, returned to the winner’s circle Thursday after guiding home Hopeful Union in the featured $65,000 FedEx Purse.
Taking command shortly after turning onto the backstretch, Hopeful Union shook off a challenge from Capital Plan entering the stretch to go on and score by 1 ¼ lengths in the mile contest over Del Mar’s main track.
Wild Rose closed well to be second, 1 ¼ lengths in front of Ambitoness, with Capital Plan fading to fourth in the field of seven older fillies and mares.
Hopeful Union, owned by Jay Em Ess Stable and trained by Ron Ellis, accomplished the distance in 1:36.78 and returned $10, $5.60 and $3 after recording her second win in ten starts. She is a four-year-old daughter of Dixie Union and Hope Rises.
Wild Rose paid $4.20 and $2.60, while Ambitoness, the 5-2 favorite, returned $3.20 to show.
With no perfect tickets in Thursday’s Pick Six, there will be a carryover of $97,949 Friday in the Pick Six. Post-time for the first race will be 4 p.m. with the Pick Six on the second through seventh races.
Thursday’s attendance was 7,921.