• The Biz
• July 10, 2021

It’s the second of two successive weekends of big races at Delaware Park. Last week, Crazy Beautiful dominated the G3 Delaware Oaks, and today, the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap tops a four-stake card.

Here, Joe Parisi, Mike Valiante, and Derby Bill Watson share their thoughts. For more from Joe on the entire card, click here.

Don’t forget to play our free handicapping contest featuring Delaware Park today!

For more:

• Bonny South tops G2 Delaware Handicap
• Micheline looks for bounceback in G3 Dick Memorial
• Chub Wagon-Hello Beautiful rematch on tap
• Busman’s holiday as Trevor McCarthy returns to Delaware

Also, this will be the first Delaware Handicap to be contested since the passing of Mr. Delaware Park, Rich Glazier. Our thoughts will be with him as post time nears. For more on Rich:

• Rememberance: Rich Glazier
• Rich Glazier a “genuine everyman”

RACE 4: $100,000 DASHING BEAUTY STAKES

• Fillies and mares, 3yo and up, 6 furlongs on dirt
• The Dashing Beauty looks to showcase a rematch of undefeated Chub Wagon (4-5) and five-time stakes winner Hello Beautiful (5-1). Those two put on a show when first and second in the Shine Again last month at Pimlico, finishing just a neck apart, with Chub Wagon getting the nod… The show horse, Paisley Singing (15-1), and fifth-place finisher, Anna’s Bandit (15-1), from the Shine Again also are here. The latter has won 17 times and earned nearly $800,000… Euphoric (8-1) has won three of five, her only defeats coming in the G2 Eight Belles and when second a nose in the G3 Miss Preakness… The real wild card here is Ava’s Charm (7-2). She hasn’t started since July 3, 2020 when trained by Bob Baffert. She arrives here in the care of trainer Jerry O’Dwyer and obviously has a little bit of talent, but a lot of water under the bridge since her last…

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RACE 5: GRADE 3, $150,000 ROBERT G. DICK MEMORIAL STAKES

• Fillies and mares, 3yo and up, 1 3/8 miles on the turf
• If you’re looking for stakes to try to beat the favorite, this might be a place to take a stand, as morning line pick Micheline (5-2) — the most accomplished runner here — enters with back-to-back off-color efforts and has lost four straight on wet turf. The surface is yielding today… There are two last-out stakes winners in the field in Blame Debbie (9-2), who galloped in the Searching at Pimlico for Graham Motion and Temple City Terror (6-1), who won the Keertana narrowly at Keeneland for Brendan Walsh… Motion has won this race eight times, most recently in 2017 with Guilty Twelve… The speedy Dalika (7-2) led the 12-furlong Keertana by 15 lengths early before settling for second and seems to be one of several in here with early lick… La Dragontea (8-1) had a disastrous trip last out when beaten three lengths in a Belmont allowance, gets jet-setting Trevor McCarthy up…

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RACE 6: $50,000 BATTERY PARK STAKES

• 3yo and up, 1 1/16 miles on the dirt
• A hard-hitting group of veterans lines up in this stake, with the class-dropping, distance-adding Phat Man (2-1) the morning line favorite. The Kent Sweezey trainee has kept the right sort of company, having made eight of 10 starts in graded company, including his last two. Both of those came at sprint distances, so he should be forwardly placed today going two turns — but do note that the Delaware main track has been very tough on front-runners this meet… All the Dale Bennett-trained Galerio (3-1) does is run good races, including a third-place finish last out in the G3 Salvator Mile, and this could be the spot for a stakes breakthrough for the Maryland-bred… Magic Michael (6-1) has won three straight for Jamie Ness… McCarthy will ride Honor the Fleet (10-1), whose form tends to be in-and-out but whose best efforts are very good indeed. McCarthy won on the horse back in November 2019… Dixie Drawl (4-1) finished behind Galerio in two earlier stakes but has won two straight since…

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RACE 9: GRADE 2, $400,000 DELAWARE HANDICAP

• Fillies and mares, 3yo and up, 1 1/4 miles on the dirt

1. Gibberish (8-1): One of two in here for trainer Saffie Joseph. Speedster has been cooked on the front end in a couple of recent starts but improved last out when adding Lasix… Has some talent, will need to step up her game here, but if track continues to be tough on speed, that won’t help…
2. Queen Nekia (3-1): The other Joseph trainee, this veteran mare was nowhere last out behind Letruska in the Ogden Phipps but three back closed from last to win G3 Royal Delta… Track’s been kind to closers, which aids her cause…
3. Dream Marie (4-1): Won the local prep, the Obeah, rallying from the rear to win smarty and besting Miss Marissa in the process… Trainer Matthew Williams hesitated to commit because of the added ground here… Her win last out was Williams’ first of the year… Makes third start after a 10-week break…
4. Saracosa (10-1): Last year’s runner-up in this event was an even sixth last out in seasonal bow… Note that last year’s event was contested at 1 1/8 miles — a furlong shorter than today… Will need very best…
5. Bonny South (3-2): Multiple graded winner was second last out behind Letruska, arguably the best mare in training right now, and won G3 event before that… Clearly the most accomplished runner here and with the right running style… She’s also the only one to have placed at the 10-furlong trip, when second in last year’s G1 Alabama to subsequent Preakness winner Swiss Skydiver… She’s showing two works since her last, and if she fires today, she could be a handful…
6. Miss Marissa (6-1): Had career-best outing last fall when holding off Bonny South to win the G2 Black-Eyed Susan by a neck on a speed-favoring strip but has not won in three subsequent tries… Made a move to the lead last out in the Obeah but could not contain winner Dream Marie… Was off five months before that start, so perhaps a useful tightener, and she retains Centeno in the irons…
7. Final Cut (12-1): The Victoria Oliver trainee would be a major surprise in here… She’s never had a Beyer fig above 81, and most rivals here routinely top that number…

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