Indy Point Doesn't Disappoint in Wickerr

Argentine-bred Indy Point, a top horse in his native land as a three-year-old when he was runner-up to older runners in the prestigious Carlos Pellegrini Stakes, made his much-anticipated United States debut at Del Mar Wednesday and it was worth waiting for.

With Hall of Famer Gary Stevens in the saddle, Indy Point rallied impressively in the stretch to win the featured $95,050 Wickerr Stakes going away by 1 ¼ lengths, stepping the mile over the infield Jimmy Durante Turf Course in 1:32.74 with a  final furlong in less than 12 seconds. The course record is 1:32.10 set by Obviously last summer.

Indy Point’s reputation preceded him and he was sent to the gate the 2-1 favorite by the crowd of 14.512, returning $6.20, $4.60 and $2.10. Endorsement outran his 17-1 odds to be runner-up, a length in front of third-place Tigah. Endorsement paid $13.20 and $9.40, while Tigah returned $5.80 to show.

Indy Point, a son of Indygo Shiner trained by Richard Mandella, was scoring his sixth victory in 13 starts, never finishing worse than third in his career. First money of $56,580 boosted his earnings to $559,061.

The four-year-old, who arrived in Mandella’s barn early this year,  was scheduled to make his U.S. debut in the American Handicap in late May at Betfair Hollywood Park but had a virus which limited his training briefly. Indy Point was a three-time Group I winner in Argentina.

Mandella, also a member of the Hall of Fame, and Stevens also teamed to win the third race with the debuting two-year-old Station House who returned $9.60 after a strong performance. And, Mandella made it a training triple in the eighth and final race on the card, sending out Indycott to win at $7.40.

There were 66 tickets with six winners in the Pick Six and each was worth $15,677. With a carryover from Sunday of $238,499 and “new” money of $1,488,621 bet Wednesday, the total Pick Six pool was $1,727,120.