Cary Grant Preview: Galilean Could Continue Conquering Cal-Breds

DEL MAR, CA – Trainer John Sadler’s Galilean could continue conquering his fellow California-breds as he returns to the dirt for Sunday’s $100,000 Cary Grant Stakes at Del Mar.

The Cary Grant is a 7-furlong sprint restricted to California-breds ages 3 and up. This year’s edition is the penultimate event on a 9-race card and has a local post time of 4:00 PM.

Here’s a look at the full field for the Cary Grant:

1. Appreciated 20/1 – He ran well here in the summer, including defeating state-bred optional claimers in a 6-furlong sprint that garnished a career-high 90 Beyer Speed Figure. He suffered defeat at the hands of familiar rivals in each of his past 2 starts, however, and will need to turn the tables on them if he hopes to earn his first stakes score against this salty group.

2. Brickyard Ride 6/1 – He rides a 2-race win streak into this event, having conquered open company optional claimers on both Santa Anita surfaces. Veteran trainer Craig Lewis shows strong faith in jockey Alexis Centeno by giving him the call for the third straight time; still an apprentice rider, he isn’t able to bring his 7-pound weight allowance into his stakes debut. 

3. Take the One O One 3/1 – He takes a tremendous drop in class and cuts back to a more suitable distance after finishing fourth in the 1 1/8-mile Awesome Again Stakes (G1) behind the eventual Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) runner-up. He’s a perfect 3-for-3 over the local dirt, including the 2018 Real Good Deal Stakes at this same distance, and should run sharp early.

4. Surfing Star 12/1 – His third start of the current form cycle comes at the longest distance that he’s attempted since he missed 16 months of racing action. Apprentice rider Jessica Pyfer makes her stakes debut aboard the Bruce Headley trainee; their lone prior shared mount resulted in a 12-length romp. Like Centeno, though, she gets no weight no allowance here.

5. Oliver 20/1 – His first start in 5 months comes after his connections gave him the ultimate equipment change, which they’re hoping can reverse the string of poor efforts he gave prior to his break. The newly-gelded Doug O’Neill trainee was second by just a 1/2-length in last year’s edition and has never missed the board over the local dirt (6-2-2-2 record). 

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6. El Tigre Terrible 7/2 – He earned a career-best 84 Beyer Speed Figure for trouncing his fellow 3-year-old Cal-breds over this course and distance in July’s Real Good Deal Stakes, improving his dirt record to 5-3-0-1. The summer meet’s leading rider Flavien Prat retains the mount for a Peter Miller barn that sits atop the current meet’s trainer standings. 

7. Bettor Trip Nick 15/1 – He makes his Del Mar debut for trainer Quinn Howey, who took over duties halfway through 2020 and saddled him to a second-place finish in the El Dorado Shooter Stakes on Golden Gate Fields’ synthetic course. His 2 prior dirt attempts saw him finish third in the California Cup Derby and fourth in the Echo Eddie Stakes earlier this year.

8. Galilean 5/2 – A talented son of Uncle Mo, one of the nation’s leading sires, he’s won a state-bred stakes over 4 of the 5 surfaces on the southern California circuit – the only thing missing from his resume is a stakes title over this very dirt. His 6 victories from 7 career starts against his own kind place him at the very top of those hailing from the Land of Milk and Honey.

9. Loud Mouth 12/1 – After failing to hit the board in 4 straight route races over the summer, he cut back to 6 1/2 furlongs and earned a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure for trouncing a field of optional claimers by 4 lengths. He finished well behind Galilean and Take The One O One earlier this year, but those came routing – perhaps sprinting is what he does best.

10. Rookie Mistake 8/1 – He rallied late to defeat state-bred optional claimers in a local 6 1/2-furlong sprint in the summer for his first dirt score in 7 attempts. He was second in both the Real Good Deal and the Echo Eddie earlier in the year, but he will likely need to take a major step forward from his recent Beyer Speed Figures if he hopes to contend here.

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