Published Thursday, November 10th, 2022   ( 1 year ago )

Eight Fillies, Mares Lineup Saturday for Kathryn Crosby Stakes

Burgoo Alley | Benoit Photo

Burgoo Alley © Benoit Photo

Fillies and mares will step to the forefront at Del Mar Saturday when the track conducts what appears to be a highly competitive edition of the Kathryn Crosby Stakes, an overnight affair that carries a $75,000 added purse.

The mile on the turf has lured eight lassies, including a 7-year-old veteran who’ll be making her 36th start and a 3-year-old miss who’ll be making her sixth.

Several of the runners could vie for favoritism, but if you’re the kind of horse player that favors class, you may find yourself leaning Burgoo Alley’s way.

The Irish-bred chestnut 4-year-old by the Brit sire Footstepsinthesand has been taking on “the nuts,” as they say, with a series of runs against solid graded stakes company of late where she held her own but couldn’t quite get over the hump. She’ll like the competition better on Saturday and will look to add to her $203,330 bankroll.

Trainer Phil D’Amato, a man who has had excellent success with Irish fillies, has named former Del Mar riding champ (five times over) Flavien Prat to handle the reins and they’ll come out of the #5 post in the feature.

Here’s the full field for the test from the rail out:

Marsha Naify’s Royal Address (Joe Bravo in the irons); Mr.-Mrs. Larry Williams’ Pulpit Rider (Ramon Vazquez); 4004 Biscayne, Buckendorf, et al’s Sugar Fix (Edwin Maldonado); Fortune Racing’s Bipartisanship (Juan Hernandez); Burgoo Alley; Markat Racing Stables’ Izzy Em (Mike Smith); Benjamin and Sally Warren’s Warrens Candy Girl (Umberto Rispoli), and Hronis Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds’ Gold for Kitten (John Velazquez).

The veteran mare in the field is Pulpit Rider, a California homebred daughter of the late Lucky Pulpit who has amassed more than a half million dollars in earnings. She’s won seven races in her career, including a trio on the Del Mar turf. She’s trained by Mike Puype.

The youngster in the bunch is Izzy Em, a bay by top sire Uncle Mo who scored her first victory last out in a straight maiden affair at Santa Anita on October 8. Her conditioner is Doug O’Neill.

Bipartisanship, a British-bred by Bated Breath, hails from the stable of top trainer H. Graham Motion, who has a string at the Bing Crosby session for the first time this year. The chestnut started her career in Ireland, but of late has been racing in the U.S on the east coast. This will be her Del Mar debut.

Warren’s Candy Girl sports four wins and five seconds and earnings of over $340,000. The homebred by Clubhouse Ride has registered all four of her victories on the Del Mar lawn. Craig Lewis trains.

First post as always is at 12:30 p.m. The Kathryn Crosby is Race 7 on a nine-race card with a post time that should be approximately 3:30 p.m.