Published Wednesday, July 28th, 2021   ( 2 years ago )

Seven Cal-Breds Will Tussle Friday in Del Mar's Real Good Deal Stakes

The Chosen Vron | Benoit Photo

The Chosen Vron © Benoit Photo

Seven 3-year-old California-bred runners will face off at seven furlongs Friday at Del Mar in the 34th edition of the Real Good Deal Stakes. The dash carries a husky purse of $175,000.

The race is one of eight Del Mar will hold this summer as part of the 2021 Golden State Series – 36 races in all at five of the state’s racetracks worth more than $4.3 million. To run in them you must be a California bred or sired racehorse.

Heading the lineup is Fetkin, Sondereker or Thornburgh, et al’s The Chosen Vron, a gelding by the stallion Vronsky who has won four of his five lifetime starts, including three stakes – two of them graded – in his most recent starts. The chestnut racer will once again have the saddle services of Umberto Rispoli as they break from the rail in the extended dash.

One of the threats to The Chosen Vron appears to be Downstream Racing’s None Above the Law, a gray stretch runner sired by Karakontie. The gelding won a pair of grass stakes at Golden Gate Fields this spring, then just missed in the Snow Chief Stakes at Santa Anita in June. Leading rider Flavin Prat has the call Friday.

Here’s the complete field for the sprint from the rail out with riders and morning line odds: The Chosen Vron (6/5); Reddam Racing’s Found Me Ball (Mario Gutierrez, 15-1); Jarnig, Marshall or Schweiger’s Top Harbor (Tiago Periera, 3-1); Little Red Feather Racing’s Atomic Drop (Abel Cedillo, 4-1); Brown, Klein or Lebherz’s Letsgetlucky (Joe Bravo, 8-1); None Above the Law (6-1), and Brown, Klein or Lebherz’s Touchdown Brown (Trevor McCarthy, 12-1).

Top Harbor ships in from Northern California for the dash. The Tim McCanna trainee has been running with stakes company of late and was close on a pair of occasions. The colt by Harbor the Gold likes to do his running late.

First post Friday is a 4 p.m.