Grand Slam Smile © Benoit Photo
All Grand Slam Smile has to do is finish in the money in Saturday’s $150,000 Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar and she’ll become racing’s newest millionaire. Easy enough for a horse who has done it her entire career.
The daughter of Smiling Tiger has only finished out of the money once in her 22-race career which includes 12 trips to the winner’s circle. She was named top Cal-bred Juvenile Filly in 2023 and Cal-bred 3-year-old filly champion in 2024.
“She’s doing super,” trainer Sean McCarthy notes. “She’s been doing very well since she came down here. She put in a good work on Saturday. A sharp half which she looked really well.”
Grand Slam Smile stopped the clock at :48.00, 12th best of 106 workers at that distance that day. In her last race she finished fifth in the G2 Great Lady M.
“The other day at Los Alamitos the horse next to her reared up at the break,” McCarthy contends, “so she missed the break. At that point you’re just chasing and with that level of stock that kind of takes you out of the ballpark.”
It was her lone out-of-the money finish in four years of racing. The 5-year-old mare has been nothing short of remarkable over the years, despite a stable change in 2025 when her trainer Steve Specht retired and turned her over to McCarthy.
“She loves to train,” McCarthy states. “She loves to run and in that respect she keeps her form steady. No real trick to it, just listening to her. Just give her the same routine. She’ll let you know when she’s sharp enough, which she has been. She’s been managed very well by Steve and the Williams (owners Mr. and Mrs. Larry Williams) along the way and I just follow that pattern with her.”
Grand Slam Smile has raced in five Cal-bred stakes since her win in last year’s Solana Beach and she won four of them. She’s tried graded stakes company three times and has yet to score a win.
There’s one major change for the likely race favorite. Grand Slam Smile’s regular rider, William Antongeorgi III, has been riding at Ellis Park this summer and will not be in the saddle Saturday. Instead, McCarthy picks up the services of Del Mar’s leading rider Juan Hernandez.
“It’s a matter of logistics,” McCarthy says of the rider change.”I didn’t want to hold up William while I was deciding whether or not to run. Juan has worked her in the mornings. He knows her.”
Take Another Card just missed catching Grand Slam Smile in the $100,000 Fran’s Valentine at Santa Anita in May, running out of room and missing by half a length. She followed with another near miss in an entry level allowance race at Del Mar last month. She came up a nose short that day but was moved up through a disqualification of the winner Lady in Paris.
“She’s running back a little quick from her allowance win,” trainer Simon Callaghan points out. “If we can pull off a similar effort to that it will put us in contention I would think.”
The daughter of I’ll Have Another has finished second in five of her last six races.
“We’ve been looking forward to running against Grand Slam Smile going a mile,” Callaghan says. “We’ve always run very respectably against her sprinting down the hill. It just feels like a mile is our best distance.”
Can’t Sleep is back from her heartbreak loss in the $100,000 Daisycutter at Del Mar on July 25. She led every step of the way but the last, getting nailed on the wire by Amorita and losing by a nose in the five furlong turf sprint.
“She’s never on the lead,” trainer Carla Gaines notes. “That was a new experience for her. A couple of the speed horses didn’t break for whatever reason so I guess (jockey Emisael) Jaramillo thought ‘here’s my chance.’”
This will be Can’t Sleep’s first time around two turns.
“I’ve always wanted to stretch her out,” Gaines contends. “The timing has just not been perfect but this is good timing so we’re going to try it. She’ll be on or close to the lead. I feel she’s the fastest horse in those terms.”
The 33rd running of the Solana Beach will have a full field of 12 going a mile on the grass. It’s Race 6 on the 10-race Saturday card. Probable post time is 4:30 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and the morning line: Stop Digging (Tyler Baze, 20-1); Fibonaccis Ride (Victor Espinoza, 30-1); Quick Kate (Kazushi Kimura, 20-1); Liberation (SCRATCH); Take Another Card (Umberto Rispoli, 5-1); Grand Slam Smile (Juan Hernandez, 8/5); Can’t Sleep (Emisael Jaramillo, 4-1); Clubhouse Cutie (Hector I. Berrios, 15-1); Wink and a Grin (Julien Leparoux, 20-1); Orange Thunder (Kyle Frey, 30-1); Miso Phansy (Armando Ayuso, 15-1), and Kikuride (Antonio Fresu, 15-1).