DEL MAR, CALIFORNIA SUNDAY, AUGUST 2, 2009
SAN DIEGO HANDICAP
$250,000, Gr. II, 3 & up, 1 1/16
(‘Win and You’re In’ Dirt Mile Division)
TYLER BAZE (Informed) – “I had the perfect ground-saving trip. The key today was to put him in the race. Doug (trainer Doug O’Neill) and I talked it over and we said that was the way to go. Last time for the Hollywood Gold Cup (July 11), the speed was holding at Hollywood and we just couldn’t get in it (finishing 6th, beaten nine lengths). This time though we were there from the start. I like this horse and I love him. He’s a hard trier and a fighter. Pacific Classic next. I want him in the Pacific Classic.”
DAVID FLORES (Mast Track) – “I took a chance and put him on the lead. It looked like the right thing to do. He ran great. He never stopped trying. He just got beat.”
JOEL ROSARIO (Song of Navarone) – “It was a good race for him. We had a little bit of traffic and those two up front slipped away from us. But a good race. Better for him next time.”
AARON GRYDER (Well Armed) – “We’re surely disappointed with this effort. No, I don’t think it was the Dubai bounce. (His last race was a victory in the Dubai World Cup March 28.) Early on I liked what was happening. He was up there in it, just like the Pacific Classic last year (where he ran second). On the backside I asked him to move a little bit and he just never grabbed the bridle. I pushed on him, but it wasn’t happening. By the time we hit the top of the stretch, the race was away from him. I didn’t persevere with him from there. I’m confident that we’ll get him back and get it figured out, though. He’ll be back.”
DOUG O’NEILL (Informed) -- “He’d been training really good down here and he loves this racetrack. Tyler rode him with a lot of confidence. He saved ground on the first turn and then was able to swing wide and come straight down the lane. Bobby’s [Bobby Frankel] horse [Mast Track] with David Flores didn’t make it easy for us.”
Is the Pacific Classic in the plan? “Yes, I think this horse can make a mile and a quarter, so I think we should try.” ($1-million Pacific Classic, 10 furlongs, Sept. 6.)
(Informed was claimed by his current connections for $25,000 at Hollywood Park June 26, 2008.)
FRACTIONS: :23.72 :47.19 1:10.85 1:35.48 1:41.91
The stakes win was the second of the meet for Tyler Baze and his first in the San Diego. He now has 19 stakes wins at Del Mar.
The stakes win was the third of the meet for Doug O’Neill (there have been a total of 10 stakes run so far) and his first in the San Diego. He now has 15 stakes wins at Del Mar.
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