Freedom's Not Free © Benoit Photo
Two stakes races – both carrying purses of $100,000 – will highlight this Sunday’s card at Del Mar. The first is the La Jolla Handicap, a mile and a sixteenth spin limited to 3-year-olds on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course that will go as Race 7 on the 11-race program. The other is the California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Stakes for 2-year-old fillies bred in California at five furlongs. It will be Race 10.
The La Jolla is part of the three-race turf series that the track runs each summer, starting with the Opening Day Oceanside Stakes and concluding with the August 31 Caesars Sportsbook Del Mar Derby.
It appears the horse to beat in the 84th edition of the La Jolla is the Omaha Beach colt Freedom’s Not Free, who races in the silks of Blinkers On Racing Stable, Corbett or Wagner, et al. The soph is already a double stakes winner, both one-mile turf events at Santa Anita this spring. Antonio Fresu has the call for trainer Mark Glatt and Del Mar’s morning line maker has hung him the 9/5 favorite in the field of six.
In the CTBA, which is part of the $.825 million Golden State Series for Cal-bred runners, the favorite going in at 8/5 is Hall Racing and West Point Thoroughbred’s Liberation, a daughter of Omaha Beach who was a smart winner of her debut at Santa Anita back in May. The chestnut miss will be piloted by Hector I. Berrios for trainer John Sadler in the 72nd running of the dash and they’ll break from Post 6 in the eight-horse lineup.
Here are the lineups to the two black type events from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:
La Jolla -- Jethorse’s Game Warrior (Berrios, 7/2); Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Sabby Racing or House, et al’s Maaz (Kazushi Kimura, 15-1); Freedom’s Not Free; Irving Ventures, Dutch Girl Holdings or Meathe, et al’s Artislas (Juan Hernandez, 4-1); Jimbo Conner’s Day and Age (Mike Smith, 6-1), and Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables or Naify’s The Padre (Umberto Rispoli, 3-1).
CTBA – Dale Brewer’s Lady Victoria (Edwin Maldonado, 20-1); J. Kirk and Judy Robison’s What’s a Good Name (Hernandez, 5-1); Lovingier, Moroney or Ryan, et al’s Tapatia Mia (Ruben Silvera, 4=-1); Edwin Alvarez’s Lino’s Angel (Tyler Baze, 12-1); Tricar Stables’ My Love Caroline (Armando Ayuso, 10-1); Liberation; Reddam Racing’s Jasmina (Kyle Frey, 7/2), and London or Lovingier’s Mustang Knicky (Fresu, 12-1).
First post Sunday goes at 2 p.m.