Proletariat © Benoit Photo
The traditional opening day feature for Del Mar’s summer meet has been the Oceanside Stakes, long considered a prep for the Del Mar Derby. The Oceanside has been around 81 years, the Derby for 81 years. The Oceanside / Derby double has only been accomplished eight times. Proletariat will try to pull it off Sunday in the 82nd running of the Grade II Caesars Sportsbook Del Mar Derby.
The gelded son of Raging Bull romped in the Oceanside last month, taking them wire to wire and crossing the finish line 5 ¾ lengths ahead of the closest competition.
“We always thought he was a sprinter,” trainer Jeff Mullins says. “Kyle (Frey) has done an amazing job getting this horse to settle in the mornings, slowing him down early and letting him finish strong.”
Proletariat has yet to lose as a 3-year-old, winning a six-furlong entry level allowance sprint at Santa Anita before taking the Oceanside.
“He’s a different horse,” Mullins notes. “Last year he was so confused. We ran him long, we ran him short. He was back and forth. We knew he was rank going a mile but every work, Kyle worked with him. We figured he would go to the lead (in the Oceanside) but Kyle knew what to do.”
Proletariat may have some company on the front end in the Derby. Trainer Doug O’Neill’s speedball, Pavlovian, is expected to go to the front like he did when he ran second in the G2 Louisiana Derby earlier this year.
“He’s a front runner,” O’Neill’s assistant Leandro Mora contends.” He’ll probably be the same pace that he likes to do.”
The son of Pavel broke in and got bumped at the start and was never a factor in his last race, the Real Good Deal Stakes at Del Mar last month.
“For us it was a workout,” Mora states. “He was coming back from Kentucky and he didn’t have much to do so Doug is taking it as a workout for the Derby and if it goes our way we’re going to look like geniuses.”
Trainer Michael McCarthy brings two horses to the dance including the second choice on the morning line, Tribalism.
“A step up for him but certainly a horse that deserves a chance,” McCarthy states. “He was second here the other day and he might have moved a little bit too soon. We’ll take a wait and see approach with him and hopefully we’ll get some pace to run into. He’s a very talented horse.”
McCarthy’s other entry is Bust Out, who ran fourth in the Oceanside.
Secured Freedom was a distant second to Proletariat in the Oceanside and returns to take another crack at him.
“I don’t think there’s anyone fast enough to go with the speed horse,” trainer Tim Yakteen says. “But the way we drew (Post #3) we’ll just be sitting in a nice pocket and a little off the pace. Very similar to his last race.”
The Oceanside was Secured Freedom’s first race on the turf and he passed with flying colors.
“I thought he ran a good race,” Yakteen adds. “I liked the way he got over the grass. I liked the way his action looked. The winner ran freaky. The mile and an eighth will be interesting. It’s a big unknown. He’s won at a mile and a sixteenth so hopefully the added distance will benefit us.”
Unrivaled Time, winner of last fall’s G3 Cecil B. DeMille at Del Mar, ran eighth in the Oceanside and was never a factor.
“He was a bit far back,” trainer Leonard Powell concedes. "He didn’t get the smoothest trip inside. The winner was very impressive. I don’t think anyone was going to beat the winner but I think with a better trip we could have hit the board.”
The son of Not This Time has won at the distance, taking the $125,00 Snow Chief at Santa Anita in May and he has the victory on the Del Mar turf course. One thing is certain, you won’t find Unrivaled Time contesting the pace in the Del Mar Derby on Sunday.
“He breaks well but he kind of falls back,” Powell contends. “Horses like him who have a turn of foot you cannot change their style. It’s not as big of a field as the Oceanside so hopefully he will not drop as far back and we got enough at the end to close.”
Nine colts and geldings will line up for the Del Mar Derby. It’s Race 7 on the nine race card and wraps up a fabulous weekend of stakes racing at Del Mar. Probable post time is 5:00 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and the morning line odds: Proletariat (Kyle Frey, 9/5); Unrivaled Time (Armando Ayuso, 15-1); Secured Freedom (Ramon Vazquez, 8-1); Tribalism (Joel Rosario, 5-1); Bust Out (Umberto Rispoli, 8-1); Pavlovian (Edwin Maldonado, 8-1); Jordi Bear (Antonio Fresu, 8-1); Melismatic (Kazushi Kimura, 6-1), and Charlie’s Curlin (Juan Hernandez, 12-1).