Phantom Boss a cleverly-named favorite of Del Mar's I'm Smokin
Coming in off a graded stakes win at Churchill Downs, as he does, there’s reason to see why Phantom Boss is the 3-1 morning line favorite in a field of 11 California-breds set for Friday’s $100,000 I’m Smokin Stakes.
One look at the 2-year-old chestnut’s face and you understand the colt's clever naming.
The son of Shackleford, out of the Street Boss mare Bossy Belle, has a white blaze that wraps around his left eye and covers the entire left side of his face – just like the pale mask worn by the title character in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s play “Phantom of the Opera.”
Phantom Boss debuted with a runner-up finish at Santa Anita on May 19 and broke his maiden there on June 2. Shipped to Churchill Downs, he justified 3-2 favorite status with a three-quarter length victory in the Bashford Manor Stakes (G3) going six furlongs.
The I’m Smokin runs at the same distance.
“Before his first race he showed a lot of talent and ability,” trainer Jorge Periban said Thursday morning. “I knew he could do much better than just being a Cal-bred.”
Post time for the I'm Smokin, Race 6 of 7 on Del Mar's Friday card, is 9:25 p.m. ET.