Easter rallied in the stretch to upset defending race champion Hong Kong Harry as turf horses trained by Phil D’Amato scored a 1-2-3 sweep Saturday in the featured Grade II Seabiscuit Handicap at Del Mar.
Jockey Antonio Fresu found an opening in the middle of the track and took advantage of a huge finishing kick by Easter to finish a half-length ahead of Hong Kong Harry in the $200,000, 1 1/16-mile run for older horses. Balnikhov was another half-length back in third.
Hong Kong Harry entered the race as the 6-5 favorite and Easter was the 8-5 second-favorite as they ran tail-to-nose down the backstretch and through the far turn as 9-1 longshot Sumter held the lead.
Hong Kong Harry took the lead under Juan Hernandez and appeared headed for a second straight Seabiscuit victory when Easter ($5.40) found an opening and out-finished the favorite. Sumter faded to fourth, finishing ahead of Astronomer.
“Obviously, I’ve got Hong Kong Harry in the race right next to me, so I sat behind him,” said Fresu. “It wasn’t easy in the first part. My horse was pretty keen. I was trying to relax him as much as I could … just trying to gewt him into a nice rhythm.
“When we came for home, I could see Hong Kong Harry was loaded in front of me. In the last 200 yards there was an opening and I took it. Easter just exploded. The race showed he was class.”
D’Amato said he saw Easter was stuck behind Hong Kong Harry.
“I thought maybe he was going to get second,” said D’Amato. “Antonio said Easter made up all the ground like nothing. It’s nice to see all three of my horses run well and the best horse won today. Maybe it’s Harry the next time and maybe it’s Balnikhov after that.”
Easter’s winning time of 1:39.96 was .46-second off the track record. And D’Amato’s second win of the day moved him past Bob Baffert into the meeting’s training lead with Peter Miller also winning two races to tie Baffert for second.
It was a very notable day for trainers.
In addition to D’Amato going 1-2-3 in the feature, four other trainers — Brian Koriner, Miller, Jorge Periban and Tim Yakteen — had 1-2 finishes in races.
Come Join the Band (Ramon Vazquez, $8.60) won the first race for Koriner with his She’s Not Kidding placing second. Miller went 1-2 in the second with winner C Z Rocket (Hernandez, $5.60) and Good With People.
After D’Amato won the third race with Paulliac (Kyle Frey, $10.40), Periban went 1-2 in the fourth with winner Noble Union (Tiago Periera, $21.20) and Tiz Tok. Yakteen then followed D’Amato’s 1-2-3 sweep in the feature with 30-1 longshot Moonlit Sonata (Geovanni Franco, $68.80) winning and All That Glory finishing second. Moonlit Sonata was the second-longest winner of the fall meeting.
Vazquez picked up his second win of the day with Summer Lake ($4.80) in the fifth race. Saturday’s other winners were – Sixth race: Signora Minister (Hernandez, $5.40 for Miller), Ninth race: Miss Lizzy (Hector Berrios, $10.40).
Hernandez’ two wins boosted his lead over Flavien Prat to five in the jockey standings. Seven of hius 15 wins came the past three days when Prat was riding at Churchill Downs. He is scheduled to return to Del Mar on Sunday.
On Sept. 3, the Baffert-trained tandem of Tahoe Sunrise and Mr. Fisk finished in a dead heat for first in the $125,000 Shared Belief Stakes on the undercard to the Pacific Classic.
Tahoe Sunrise returned to Del Mar Friday and won a second-level allowance race.
Mr. Fisk returns Sunday as the morning line, second-favorite to Newgrange in the featured, Grade III Native Diver Stakes. Seven older horses will go in the $100,000, 1 ¼-mile race on the main track — which is the lone dirt stakes race during Del Mar’s two-weekend Turf Festival.
The Native Diver has some interesting side stories.
Newgrange (Edwin Maldonado) ran third in this race a year ago behind Defunded and Azul Coast and has only raced twice since winning the Grade II San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 23. Mr. Fisk (Hernandez) hasn’t raced since the Shared Belief.
Skinner (Mike Smith) was a late scratch before the Kentuck Derby last May. After running second behind Reincarnate in the Los Alamitos Derby, Skinner finished fifth in the Grade Is Pacific Classic and Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita. The 7-year-old Visitant (Prat) has 11 wins in 23 career starts.
