Blamed Blazes in G3 Royal Delta

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Cleber Massey’s Blamed returned to the winner’s circle in ultra-impressive fashion on Saturday, blazing  Grade 3, $150,000 Royal Delta Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Breaking sharply from the outside post 7 as the 4/5 favorite under Irad Ortiz, Jr., Blamed soon cleared her foes and crossed over to the rail, establishing command through opening fractions of :23.29 and :45.63. Straightening for home still well in hand, the Bill Mott trainee responded to her rider’s cues and began clearing away. Under wraps in the final stages, Blamed crossed with a 1 1/4-length advantage in a final time of 1:35.18 for the mile-long event over the fast main track.

“I got a good trip,” said Ortiz, Jr. “She broke good and put me in a good position up front. She relaxed so well. When I asked her turning for home, she responded very well. She had something left.”

Mexican invader Jala Jala, who won the Caribbean Classic Stakes here in 2017 and the Confraternity Caribbean Cup Stakes here in 2018, finished a strong, impressive second in her first career start against American foes. Tequilita was a neck behind in third, but it was 3 3/4 lengths back to Another Broad in fourth. The same gap placed Weekend Mischief in fifth, while Tulsa Queen and Silver Bay completed the order of finish.

Blamed’s win was her second graded stakes score (following the Grade 3 Comely at Aqueduct last November) and improved her overall record to 10-7-2-0 with $496,765 earned. The 4-year-old daughter of Blame was exiting her lone off-the-board performance last out in the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie over a sloppy Gulfstream Park main track.

“She’s been so consistent the entire time,” said assistant trainer Ken McCarthy. “We looked at (her Hurricane Bertie race) the last time and figured it was the sloppy track. Obviously, it was nice to see her come back and prove us right. (Running back in three weeks) is not usually (Mott’s) M.O., but I think he felt like he wanted to let her prove herself again. She was very consistent last year. She’s a good filly.”

Blamed returned $ to win, $ to place, and $ to show. Place brought back $ to place and $ to show, while Show paid $ to show.