The surest way for racing fans to make money at Del Mar on Saturday was to bet on Florida-breds, as Tell a Kelly led a Florida-bred trifecta in the $250,000 Darley Debutante (G1) and Tropic Storm got his first stakes victory in the $83,325 Windy Sands Handicap.
Tell a Kelly, a daughter of Tapit bred by Chuluota’s Karen C. West, got her second consecutive victory, rallying from last place in the Darley Debutante to win by 4 ½ lengths. Wickedly Perfect, favored after winning the Sorrento Stakes (G3) at Del Mar last month, finished second, 2 ¼ lengths ahead of Rigoletta.
Tell a Kelly and jockey Alonso Quinonez were in 10th place after Wickedly Perfect took the field of 2-year-old fillies through a quarter-mile in 22.11 seconds and a half-mile in 44.96. Racing in tight quarters throughout the seven-furlong test, Tell a Kelly split horses going around the turn and went wide to find running room, and once in the clear, it was all over except for the celebrating.
Tell a Kelly advanced to second place at the top of the stretch and surged past Wickedly Perfect on the outside, cruising to the wire as Quinonez gave her just a light tap with the whip and a hand ride. The filly finished in 1:23.05 and returned mutuels of $11.20, $5.60 and $3.60 as the third choice.
Trained by John Sadler for Ike and Dawn Thrash, Tell a Kelly has won two of her three starts, all at Del Mar, for $181,000. The filly finished fifth in her career debut in July, then won a $50,000 maiden special weight race by 2 ½ lengths last month. She was a $45,000 purchase as a yearling at Keeneland last September.
Wickedly Perfect paid $4.40 and $3.20, while Rigoletta returned $9.20 to show. Wickedly Perfect, a daughter of Vinery stallion Congrats bred by Y-Lo Racing Stables, has won two of her three starts and earned $164,600 for trainer Doug O’Neill and an ownership group led by STD Racing Stable. The filly was a $70,000 purchase at OBS in April.
Wickedly Perfect won a $41,000 maiden special weight race by 4 ¾ lengths at Hollywood Park in June, then took the Sorrento Stakes by a length.
Rigoletta, a daughter of Ocala Stud Farm stallion Concerto, has one win from three starts and has earned $60,820 for trainer Dan Hendricks and owner Thor-Bred Stable LLC. She was a $35,000 purchase at OBS in April.
Rigoletta, bred by Ocala Stud, finished fifth in her career debut at Hollywood Park in July, then won a $52,000 maiden special weight race by 1 ¼ lengths at Del Mar on Aug. 8.
In the Windy Sands Handicap, Tropic Storm led every step of the way under jockey David Flores to win by 2 ¼ lengths. The son of Stormy Atlantic, bred by the late Arthur I. Appleton at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, posted the fastest time for a one-mile race on the main track at the current Del Mar meet, finishing in 1:35.64.
Tropic Storm covered a quarter-mile in 22.94 seconds and a half-mile in 46.25 while building a 2 ½-length lead. He got to the top of the lane with a two-length advantage and never was seriously threatened. The 6-year-old gelding returned $8.60, $4.20 and $3.40, with Red Door Drive finishing second and Unusual Suspect third.
Tropic Storm finished in the money in four consecutive graded events in 2008, running second in the Ack Ack Handicap (G3) at Hollywood Park prior to third-place showings in the Triple Bend Handicap (G1) at Hollywood, the Longacres Mile (G3) at Emerald Downs and the Oak Tree Mile (G2) at Santa Anita Park. He then sat out the entire 2009 season.
Tropic Storm, trained by Craig Dollase for West Point Thoroughbreds, returned to the races last month at Del Mar, winning a $62,000 optional claimer on turf. He finished a nose behind Amazombie but was elevated to first place when the winner was disqualified for interference. Tropic Storm has won six of his 15 starts for $379,805.
–E-mail Nick Fortuna at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Benoit Photo
