Delaware Park horses to watch: August 5

by | Aug 5, 2017 | Breaking, DE Racing, Delaware, Racing

Off at Delaware Park. Photo © www.HoofprintsInc.com.

by Frank Vespe

Saturday’s Delaware Park card features nine races, the last of which is a stake for Arabians. Post time for the card is 1:15 p.m. Some horses to watch:

  • The sixth race is a terrific maiden special weight test for two-year-old fillies going six furlongs on the main track, and three of the runners are first-starters bred to be any kind. The favorite is Maya Malibu (2-1), a Graham Motion trainee by Malibu Moon out of the Tabasco Cat mare Island Sand. One of Island Sand’s other offspring, Martini Brother, is a stakes winner. Two other firsters worth a look here are Blue Union Rags (4-1) and Ordain (6-1). The former, trained by John Servis, is by the hot young sire Union Rags and out of the Smart Strike mare Wishful Splendor, whose offspring include multiple graded stakes winner Juanita and stakes winner Sirocco Strike. She fetched a winning bid of $335,000 at auction. The latter is a Larry Jones trainee by Congrats whose sibs include stakes winner She’s All Eltish.
  • The eighth, a six-furlong sprint, is first allowance/optional claimer at the $15,000 level. Though just six are entered, it’s certainly a rugged enough group. The deserving 8-5 morning line favorite is Smiling Causeway, the three-year-old Arnaud Delacour trainee with blazing early speed who has a win and two seconds from three starts, most recently running second on the turf in the Stormy Blues Stakes at Laurel Park. Delacour removes the blinks, and if this one can learn to relax, she could be dangerous. Another live runner is Fillupcohensapiker (5-2), recently second against similar. But the other horse of interest here is Karula (7-2), a Mike Stidham trainee who won a stake at Emerald Downs at first asking — at 30-1 odds — by 11 lengths! She was then off from June 2016 until this past March, when she ran fifth against a rough group of allowace foes at the Fair Grounds after a bad trip. She hasn’t raced since but four of her last five works have been bullets. Leading rider Carol Cedeno has the mount.

ARABIAN WATCH 

Our Arabian coverage is presented by our friends at Arabian Finish Line.

The $30,000 Cre Run Oaks Arabian Distaff S. (Gr. 2) for 3- and 4-year-old fillies will be contested at 1 1/16 miles. It features a field of seven – six of whom are trained by Jerenesto Torrez. His top runners – Burning Charm and Sweet Honey AA – come from the barn of leading owners Joe and Betty Gillis. The nod goes to Sweet Honey AA, winner of 3 of 4 starts and gets Ricardo Chiappe aboard. She most recently finished third to the excellent older mares Ivory Shores and Pams Masquerade. R B Kindle, with Carol Cedeno in the irons, has two wins from two starts, but is stepping up in class. RB Kinkie, who is twice stakes-placed, is making her second start off a layoff and looks to improve upon her sixth place finish last time out. She is being ridden by Travis Wales.