Ten Set for Wickerr
Nine of the 10 older horses entered in Wednesday's $75,000 Wickerr Stakes show experience in graded stakes races, several with extensive work at racing's top levels.
The Wickerr will be run at a mile on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course and the horse for the course is the Ben Cecil-trained Ferneley. The Irish-bred 6-year-old son of Ishiguru was third in the 2009 Wickerr before coming back to win the Del Mar Mile and qualify for the Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita.
He went on to finish second in the Woodbine Mile and then seventh in the Breeders' Cup Mile. He finished the year with a fifth place in the Cathay Pacific Mile.
Offering plenty of competition are these other graded stakes veterans: Gallant Son, winner of Hollywood Park's Grade III Inglewood Handicap; Noble Court, winner of Hollywood Park's Grade III Ack Ack Handicap in 2009; Quindici Man, second in the Inglewood; Aggie Engineer, Blue Chagall, Golden Balls, Red Door Drive and Riviera Cocktail. A Lil Dumaani will be making his graded stakes debut in the Wickerr.
Here are the riding assignments: A Lil Dumaani, Martin Garcia; Aggie Engineer, Joe Talamo; Blue Chagall, Tyler Baze; Ferneley, Joel Rosario; Gallant Son, Mike Smith; Golden Balls, Victor Espinoza; Noble Court, Alonso Quinonez; Quindici Man, Corey Nakatani; Red Door Drive, Martin Pedroza, and Riviera Cocktail, Rafael Bejarano.