With two exceptions in which he had genuine excuses, Formidable Man has been impossible to beat in the last 13 months, which is why he will be favored to win Saturday’s Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on turf.
Formidable Man has won five stakes since mid-July of 2024, all on turf. Two of them were Grade 1 races – the Hollywood Derby at 1 1/8 miles at Del Mar last November, and the Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita in March.
More recently, Formidable Man closed from third of six to win the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Del Mar on July 27, extending his career unbeaten record at Del Mar to five races.
“He seems to have an affinity for Del Mar,” trainer Michael McCarthy said.
This is a good year for a high-class stakes runner to like Del Mar’s turf. The Breeders’ Cup Mile will be run at Del Mar on Nov. 1 and that race is a long-range goal with Formidable Man.
To win on Saturday against as many as seven rivals, Formidable Man will need his customary stalking trip. He has lost twice this year, finishing 12th after setting a quick pace in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf at Gulfstream Park in January, and fourth in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile behind King of Gosford after being farther back than normal through the first half-mile.
King of Gosford is part of the Del Mar Mile field, along with such other notable runners as Full Serrano, who won the BC Dirt Mile last November in his last start; Almendares, who won the restricted Wickerr Stakes at a mile on turf on July 19; and the recent French import Suchet, a good second in his American debut at Del Mar on July 26.
The other entrants are Cabo Spirit, a front-runner who was second in the Eddie Read; Nesso’s Lasthurrah, the winner of an allowance race on turf on Aug. 15; and Zio Jo, who was second in the Wickerr.
McCarthy knows Formidable Man must be at his best to beat that cast at a distance that may not be the colt’s best trip.
“He’s been effective at a mile,” McCarthy said. “He’s won a Kilroe Mile. He might be a little better at a mile and an eighth.”
Full Serrano is not a certain starter.
Trainer John Sadler said on Thursday that he is exploring other options in the near future for Full Serrano, who was a stakes winner on turf in Argentina in 2023 but has run on dirt in three starts in the United States. Full Serrano was sidelined with injury last winter and has worked steadily, and sometimes quickly, since early July.
“We could wait for Santa Anita,” Sadler said.
King of Gosford, also a five-time stakes winner, will deservedly be well-backed. After the Shoemaker Mile, trainer Phil D’Amato said the $300,000 Del Mar Mile would be King of Gosford’s next start.
“He had a nice easy break after his Grade 1 win,” D’Amato said. “He’s been training nonstop ever since.”
King of Gosford has won 3 of 5 starts at a mile on turf, often running from slightly off the pace.
Almendares, trained by D’Amato, won his first stakes in the Wickerr, closing from seventh of 10 to lead in the final furlong.
D’Amato thinks Almendares will be overlooked on Saturday, with a chance to prove he belongs at the top of California’s turf mile division.
“The Wickerr was a nice stakes, but he’s got to take down one of these graded stakes to come to the forefront,” D’Amato said. “He’s acting like he’s much more mature and more confident. He’s always been a horse with ability.
“I was very impressed with the Wickerr, and the way he came out of it, and the way he trains.”
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.