Roman bounces back with Friday hat trick at Del Mar
After going 0-for-14 over the first two days and two mounts into the third, apprentice Evin Roman notched his first Del Mar victory in Friday’s fourth race aboard Texas Wedge for trainer Peter Miller.
The 19-year-old native of Puerto Rico, who shared the Santa Anita riding title with Flavien Prat and won the championship at Los Alamitos by a wide margin, added wins in the sixth and eighth races to move up the standings into a tie for third. Rafael Bejarano has six victories in the first three days from 16 mounts with Prat (4-for-15), Joe Talamo (3-for-11), Kent Desormeaux (3-for-10) and Roman (3-for-21) following.
An indication of the depth of the jockey colony is that six riders have posted multi-win days – in five instances posting wins in consecutive races – in the first three days of the 36-day meeting.
Prat got things started winning the first, third and fourth races on Opening Day before Bejarano responded by taking the fifth, sixth, seventh and 10th.
On Thursday, Talamo won the first two and Tyler Baze the third and fourth. Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux got into the winner’s circle act following the second and third races on Friday and was back for an encore in the featured Osunitas Stakes aboard Madame Stripes for Neil Drysdale.
WEDNESDAY’S COUGAR II ATTRACTS A FIELD OF SEVEN
The second week at Del Mar kicks off with the only Wednesday graded stakes feature of the summer meeting, the Grade III $100,000 Cougar II Handicap.
At 1 ½ miles on the main track, the Cougar II has been used in the past as prep for the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic later in the meeting, most notably by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert with Richard’s Kid before his 2009 and 2010 Pacific Classic victories.
The field from the rail: Infobedad (John Sadler/Tyler Baze), Curlin Road (Doug O’Neill/Flavien Prat), Big John B (Phil D’Amato/Rafael Bejarano), French Getaway (Bob Hess, Jr./Kent Desormeaux), Noble Nick (John Sadler/Santiago Gonzalez), Hard Aces (John Sadler/Santiago Gonzalez) and Giant Influence (Peter Eurton/Jamie Theriot).
O’NEILL AND ‘FRIENDS’ HAVE ANOTHER JUVENILE TURF FILLY
Trainer Doug O’Neill, the San Diego-centric in ownership Great Friends Stable and partners, are going down a familiar path with a recently-purchased 2-year-old filly named Klosters imported from Europe.
The filly is one of nine horses the Great Friends Stable has acquired for racing at the summer meeting, as it has done for the past several years.
Klosters won the EBF Novice Stakes at Chepstow in England on June 16 in her second career start. She finished third in her debut at the same track and was trained by Roger Charlton.
“She won impressively over there,” O’Neill said. “There’s the 2-year-old filly stake at the end of the meeting (Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf, closing day, September 4) and then we’re dreaming about the Breeders’ Cup ($1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf, Friday, November 3) here with her.”
The “import to top day in the sport” play has been made by O’Neill and Great Friends with Clenor (2013) and She’s Complete (2014).
CLOSERS – O’Neill said the Travers at Saratoga in August is the next target with Blue Grass Stakes and Indiana Derby winner Irap. The Pacific Classic, which has been won by 3-year-olds against older on five occasions, is not a temptation. “We’re going to keep him in his age group as long as we can,” O’Neill said. One of the top runners in the O’Neill Barn, 3-year-old filly Shane’s Girlfriend, is being aimed for the Torrey Pines Stakes on August 27 … John Sadler will work Stellar Wind on Sunday morning, the final major exercise before her title defense in the Grade I Clement L. Hirsch on July 30. The work is scheduled for around 6:30 a.m. with exercise rider Jose Contreras aboard for a five or six-furlong spin …Selected works from 204 officially timed on Saturday morning: Do the Dance (4f, :46.80), Mr. Hinx (4f, :49.60), Tribalist (4f, :46.80), Big Macher (5f, :59.00), Coniah (5f, 1:01.80), Hard Aces (5f, 1:01.40), Kobe’s Back (5f, 1:00.00), Indygo Bo (6f, 1:12.00).
Source: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club