King of Gosford © Benoit Photo
The last of the four graded stakes races on Saturday’s card is the G2 Del Mar Mile on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course. Twelve horses are entered in a very competitive field that features the heartbreaking runner-up in the G2 Eddie Read earlier this summer; the runner-up in the G1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita; the runner-up in the G2 Kilroe Mile, and the winner of the Wickerr Stakes at Del Mar last month who won the Shoemaker Mile in 2025.
That was King of Gosford who followed up his win in the Shoemaker with a run in last year’s Del Mar Mile. It was a race trainer Philip D’Amato would just as soon forget.
“He got caught up with John Sadler’s horse (Suchet) and he cut up his hind leg,” D’Amato recalls. “The only way it could heal properly was to take him out of training.”
The English-bred wouldn’t race again until April of this year when he missed by 1 ¼ lengths to stablemate Almendares in his comeback, the G3 American Stakes. He followed with a defense of his title in the Shoemaker Mile and came up 1 ½ lengths short in third place before winning the $100k Wickerr.
“We always do right by our horse,” D’Amato explains, “and he rewarded us in the Wickerr. He’s coming back in good shape, rounding into form and hopefully he’ll reward us in the Del Mar Mile.”
Almendares is also entered by D’Amato. He’s coming off a sixth-place finish in the Eddie Read last month.
“That was kind of a cluster,” D’Amato claims. “He was supposed to sit and come from behind and another horse bounced off of him and got him real rank. He sat too close and when that happens he never runs well. He’ll be anchored and come with a run.”
Almendares was runner-up in the Del Mar Mile last year.
The defending champ in the Del Mar Mile, Formidable Man, is off to Kentucky Downs to run in the $2 million Mint Millions but trainer Michael McCarthy has another horse ready to roll. Detain is an Irish-bred who arrived in McCarthy’s barn five months ago and has run twice in allowance company, winning on opening day at Del Mar. Judging by his races over in England, he fits right in with this group.
“This is a little bit sharper of a distance than the flat mile,” McCarthy contends. “I thought we would try this and obviously it gives us options. If it’s too short, then we can come back in the John Henry at a mile and a quarter, or if he does run well going a mile then we got the City of Hope.”
Cabo Spirit is ready to go again after his heartbreaking loss to Gold Phoenix in the Eddie Read, a race in which he led every step of the way until the end.
“He ran a huge race,” trainer George Papaprodromou says. “He drifted out in the stretch. He should have won the race.”
But instead, he missed by a nose in a three-horse blanket finish that also involved Formidable Man. He gets the inside post which could be ideal for his front running tactics.
“He’s the speed of the race,” Papaprodromou points out. “Obviously they’re going to be after us. It all depends on if someone hooks up with us.”
One of the horses who may be lying just off the pace is El Potente, runner-up in the Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita in March.
“He ran a great race,” trainer Dan Blacker contends. “I think he was unlucky not to win.”
The son of Temple City hasn’t raced since the Kilroe on March 7.
“It’s not ideal to draw post 12 of 12,” Blacker adds, “but the way the race looks on paper if everyone goes it might not work out too bad. There seems like there’s plenty of speed down on the inside with Flyover and Cabo. I think he’s got natural speed at this distance and he’s probably going to be prominently placed. He doesn’t have to have the lead by any means. In fact, I think he runs better if he can stalk something.”
It’s the 40th running of the G2 Del Mar Mile which has been won by the likes of Hong Kong Harry, Obviously, Alphabet Soup, Twilight Agenda and Precisionist. It’s the final race of the day, Race 11. Probable post is 7:15 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and morning line odds: Cabo Spirit (Mike Smith, 8-1); Seal Team (Joel Rosario, 15-1); Artislas (Julien Leparoux, 15-1); Freedom’s Not Free (Emisael Jaramillo, 12-1); Detain (Juan Hernandez, 10-1); Sinsel (Kazushi Kimura, 8-1); Almendares (Antonio Fresu, 6-1); Astronomer (Victor Espinoza 20-1); King of Gosford (Umberto Rispoli, 5-1); Flyover (Armando Ayuso, 10-1); Twirling Point (Ricky Gonzalez, 12-1), and El Potente (Hector I. Berrios, 7/2).