Motorious © Benoit Photo
One of the two Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” races will kick off the stakes action on Pacific Classic Day at Del Mar Saturday. It’s the G2 Green Flash, a “WAYI” for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Upgraded this year from a Grade 3, the five-furlong sprint features some of the quickest grass horses on the grounds.
One of those is defending champion Motorious. The English-bred from the Philip D’Amato barn will be in search of his fourth straight score in the Green Flash, an unprecedented feat that’s not lost on his trainer.
“No doubt it would mean a lot,” D’Amato says, “especially for a good owner like Anthony Fanticola. He’s been with me since I started training. I won a Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint with him. (Obviously in 2016).
Motorious won his first Green Flash in 2023, repeated in 2024 and then last year finished second but got bumped up to the winner’s circle when the horse who finished first, Reef Runner, was disqualified.
“He drew a good post (#6) which will help,” D’Amato notes. “Some speed up front wouldn’t hurt. I think if he breaks like he did last time he should put himself in a good spot and hopefully the horses will come back to him.”
As you would expect in a five-furlong turf sprint there’s plenty of early speed in the race. Man O Rose could be one of those front runners. The outstanding Cal-bred is coming back from a five-month layoff which trainer Jeff Mullins says was by design. The son of Stanford has raced mostly in Cal-bred company but the last time he tried open company he won the $100,000 Palos Verdes at Santa Anita in February.
Man O Rose has shown he can run on turf and dirt and a bullet work at Del Mar on August 7 is a sign he’s ready to roll.
Sumter has developed into an outstanding turf sprinter, winning the G3 San Simeon in March down the hill at Santa Anita, he then missed by a nose to Freedom’s Not Free in the G3 Daytona in June. He beat Motorious in a salty allowance race at Del Mar last month.
“He’s been doing good lately,” trainer Richard Mandella states. “It’s only five-eighths so you can’t think too much. When they say go you better get going.”
No Nay Hudson is back in the Green Flash for trainer Wesley Ward. He’s been knocking heads with Motorious in the past two runnings of the race, missing by three-quarters of a length in 2024 and then by a 1 ¼ lengths last year. The 6-year-old has only raced once this year, a seventh-place finish in the G2 Shakertown at Keeneland in April.
The G3 Green Flash is Race 5 on Saturday’s 11-race card. It’s named after an atmospheric phenomenon that occurs at sunset off the California coast. Much like the race, if you blink, you’ll miss it. Probable post for the Green Flash is 4:00 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and the morning line odds: Monster (Emisael Jaramillo, 15-1); Mescalero (Kazushi Kimura, 15-1); Man O Rose (Edwin Maldonado, 5-1); Incanto (Tyler Baze, 20-1); Sumter (Mike Smith, 4-1); Motorious (Antonio Fresu, 5/2); Virat (Hector I Berrios, 10-1); No Nay Hudson (Juan Hernandez, 5-1); Sorrento Sky (Umberto Rispoli, 8-1), and Saratoga Special (Joel Rosario, 15-1).