When Iron Man Cal finished a troubled second in the Oceanside Stakes on July 18 at Del Mar, trainer Phil D’Amato thought the loss was both a missed opportunity and proof of the colt’s ability.
Iron Man Cal, the 1-2 favorite in a field of 10, stumbled at the start of the Oceanside Stakes and recovered to lose by a half-length.
“I thought I had him ready to go and for him to recover after almost throwing the jockey off, I thought it was a miraculous performance,” D’Amato recalled Friday.
Immediately after the loss, D’Amato focused on having Iron Man Cal ready for Sunday’s Grade 2 Del Mar Derby at 1 1/8 miles on turf.
Iron Man Cal, who races for the partnership of Little Red Feather Racing and Madaket Stable, rates as the favorite with an excellent chance to win, provided he can beat stablemate The Padre, winner of the La Jolla Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on turf on Aug. 3 in only his third start.
“I think they’re both thriving right now,” D’Amato said. “The Padre is the least experienced between those two and his potential is there.
“I see Iron Man Cal really training forwardly. I think he’s ready to rock and roll.”
The $300,000 Del Mar Derby drew a field of six. D’Amato has three starters, including Mythical Reel, who was second to Del Mar Derby entrant Geometry in an allowance race at a mile on Aug. 10, his first start since being gelded in May.
“He seems to be waking up,” D’Amato said of Mythical Reel. “I thought he ran a huge race first time as a gelding. He acts like a horse that the farther, the better. I want to give him a little extra ground.”
Geometry and The Padre are the least experienced runners in the field, with three starts. While The Padre is a stakes winner, Geometry will have his stakes debut in the Del Mar Derby. The win on Aug. 10 was his first start of the year. Trainer Jonathan Thomas said last weekend that Geometry has trained well since that race.
The other two runners are stakes winners Freedom’s Not Free, who was second in the La Jolla, and Game Warrior who won the Oceanside and was fifth by a mere 1 1/4 lengths in the La Jolla after bumping with a rival in early stretch.
Game Warrior, trained by Peter Miller, is the only runner in the Del Mar Derby with two starts at the current Del Mar meeting.
Freedom’s Not Free, who won two one-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita earlier this year – the Pasadena and Cinema stakes – is expected to set the pace.
“It sure seems like a paceless race other than Geometry,” trainer Mark Glatt said of Freedom’s Not Free. “I think we’ll say come catch us if you can.”
The Del Mar Derby will be the longest race of Freedom’s Not Free’s career.
“I don’t think it’s a negative,” Glatt said of the distance. “Depending on the pace scenario, it may turn out to be a positive.”
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