Del Mar 2024: At 9-1, Midnight Mammoth upsets Cougar II

Midnight Mammoth, who has come to hand nicely in the past two months, registered his third straight tally in the feature at Del Mar Thursday when he came away the winner of the Grade 3, $100,000 Cougar II Stakes in galloping fashion by 10 1/4 lengths.

The 5-year-old gelding ran the testing 1 1/2 miles in 2:32.03 and was in front at every call in the marathon under Armando Ayuso, the Panamanian youngster who earned his first North American graded-stakes victory. The son of Midnight Lute is trained by Craig Dollase for owner Jeffrey Sengara. He returned an even $20 to his backers in the weekday crowd.

Finishing second in the Cougar II was the 3-10 favorite Reincarnate, who had 7 3/4 lengths on Salesman.

In past years the Cougar II has served as a prep for one of two distance races upcoming at the meet, the grassy Del Mar Handicap (G2) at 1 3/8 miles or the 1 1/4-mile Pacific Classic (G1) on dirt. Both of those races are slated for Aug. 31 at Del Mar.

Midnight Mammoth improved his career record to 32: 7-4-7. He picked up a check for $60,000 in the process and pushed his bankroll to $320,230.