DEL MAR, Calif. - Formidable Man went from being a cranky colt shortly after the start of Saturday’s $103,000 Oceanside Stakes to an impressive winner in the final strides of the first stakes of the Del Mar summer meeting.
Ridden by Umberto Rispoli, Formidable Man bumped with a rival at the start, and was kept toward the back of the 11-runner field while racing on the inside. Rispoli guided Formidable Man to the outside on the turn, and had an uninterrupted rally in early stretch. Formidable Man reached the front with a sixteenth of a mile remaining.
“He got bumped and he pinned up his ears back,” Rispoli said of the start. “My horse wanted to go a bit.
“There was a lot of speed in front of me. I waited patiently. I decided to stay there with him and at the three-eighths I moved out.”
On the turn, Formidable Man rallied with Guy Named Joe, who gave the winner much-needed company, Rispoli said.
“That helped my horse,” Rispoli said.
The second choice, Formidable Man ($8.20) ran a mile on turf in 1:34.76. He earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 87.
Guy Named Joe (7-2) ran second, a half-length in front of 9-1 Rothschild.
Guy Named Joe, ridden by Juan Hernandez, was 10th on the backstretch, racing alongside Formidable Man, and was wider than Formidable Man on the turn.
“I was next to the winner,” Hernandez said. “The winner came through. He was loaded. My horse gave a big effort.”
Blue Eyed George finished fourth, followed by We’re in Trouble, King of Gosford, Scatify, Simplexity, Island Cruiser, All That Glory and Charge for Gold. King of Gosford was the 5-2 favorite on the strength of two sprint stakes wins on turf at Santa Anita in April and May.
The Oceanside Stakes was restricted to 3-year-olds who had not won a first-place purse worth $50,000 or more to the winner in a stakes at a mile over this year.
Formidable Man, by City of Light, races for owners William and Suzanne Warren and trainer Michael McCarthy. The Warrens raced City of Light, who was trained by McCarthy.
City of Light was best known for winning such Grade 1 races as the Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita in 2017, the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Churchill Downs in 2018, and Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park in 2019 in his final start.
The Warrens purchased Formidable Man for $375,000 as a yearling. Formidable Man has won 3 of 8 starts and earned $277,425.
The Oceanside Stakes was Formidable Man’s fifth appearance in a stakes. He was second in the Grade 2 American Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 4 and sixth of ninth there in the Audubon Stakes on June 1 in his two starts prior to Saturday.
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