We head somewhere dry, at least on the track, as we head where the turf meets at the surf at Del Mar for tonight’s seventh race, which is a race for California-bred two-year-olds going five and a half furlongs on the main track. We have nine juveniles going tonight in the Graduation Stakes with a post time of approximately 10:01 pm Eastern time.
Del Mar Race 7 – Graduation Stakes
Favored in tonight’s race at Del Mar is the 3 R Heisman (6/5 morning line) who finished second in a stakes race up at Pleasanton last month. He had issues at the start, breaking inward at the start bumping a horse and then was very rank when the winner of the race progressively moved inward from his outside post. The was almost 10 lengths clear of Timty (12/1 ML) who finished third at in the Pleasanton stakes race.
We do have a ton of speed in this race, but since this is a juvenile race, anything could happen. Bodacious (6/1 ML) won his debut over the favorite in May, but tired badly in the Bashful Manor at Churchill Downs. If he runs like he did in his debut, he could be tough to beat. Also, he is running half a furlong less today at Del Mar than that failed venture to Kentucky.
The 7 I’m a Bad Boy (4/1 ML) is a maiden facing winners here, but at this point of the calendar in juvenile races, this is not uncommon. He already has a race over the track here at Del Mar and may even be stalking here.
The 9 Last Call Zondlo (10/1 ML) could improve off of his debut win at Los Alamitos in June. He will have to improve to hit the board here but he should be off the leaders from his outside post. He is also running for the first time after being gelded tonight at Del Mar, so if this is an angle that you like to play, this may be your horse.
Bodacious did defeat the favorite back in May but did not show much last time at Churchill. A return to the west coast and to Del Mar might be the panacea it needs to get back to the winner’s circle. R Heisman did have some trouble in his last race and some will argue this could have been a contributing factor to his runner up finish at Pleasanton.
I am going to try to beat the favorite here with Bodacious. I think he bounces back in more familiar surroundings and gets the job done here, hopefully at a nice price. I’ll call this 4-3-9-7 and my play is $20 to win on the 4. Good luck everyone, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning on Also Eligible at 10 am on the Bleacher Brothers streaming platforms!
Check out my stream “The Joe Quills Show” on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9 pm Eastern on my Twitch, X and YouTube talking about the latest sports news and whatever comes up; and catch my horse racing show every Saturday at 10 am Eastern on the Bleacher Brothers platforms.