Real Good Deal Preview: El Tigre Terrible Back on Dirt

DEL MAR, CA – Already a stakes winner on turf, Slam Dunk Racing and Michael Nentwig’s El Tigre Terrible heads back to the dirt looking for more success in Friday’s $125,000 Real Good Deal Stakes at Del Mar.

The Real Good Deal is a 7-furlong dirt sprint restricted to California-bred or sired 3-year-olds. This year’s edition is slated as the ninth event on an 11-race card and has a local post time of 6:00 PM Pacific.

Here is a look at the full field for the Real Good Deal:

1. Rookie Mistake 5/2 – The versatile Square Eddie colt might have only won on turf, but he came within a head of stealing the Echo Eddie Stakes at 13/1 in his most recent dirt attempt. He earned a career-best 85 Beyer speed figure that day, and the winner, Big Sweep, came back to win the local Fleet Treat Stakes last weekend.

2. Margot’s Boy 4/1 – The Clubhouse Ride gelding won 3 straight to begin 2020 and has an overall record of 6-3-0-1. Though every start came going two turns on turf, he should have the necessary endurance to handle this tricky distance and his sire has produced 16% dirt sprint winners to date.

3. Let’s Rejoyce 12/1 – He broke his maiden on the Golden Gate Field synthetic main track in his second start, then finished an improving fourth against state-bred optional claimers while covering 5 1/2 furlongs at Los Alamitos. Trainer Jonathan Wong and jockey Ricky Gonzalez (aboard for all prior starts) have a 35% win rate together since 2019.

4. El Tigre Terrible 2/1 – After winning 2 of his first 4 starts while sprinting on dirt, he pulled off a 23/1 shocker to win the 5-furlong Speakeasy Stakes on the Santa Anita Park turf. His local dirt record of 3-2-0-1 hints that he should relish the going, and trainer Peter Miller has a strong 23% win rate in non-graded dirt sprint stakes.

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5. Phantom Boss 6/1 – He began his career auspiciously, winning 2 of his first 3 starts including the Bashford Manor Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs. While he failed to hit the board in 4 tries since, he will carry the lowest weight (118 pounds) of his career, and perhaps that plus returning to the state-bred dirt sprint stakes level will light a spark.

6. Clayton Delaney 8/1 – He showed much improvement in his second career start, taking a state-bred maiden special weight field gate to wire while going 5 1/2 furlongs at Los Alamitos in July. This is a big step up in class, but trainer Phil D’Amato and jockey Abel Cedillo (aboard for the maiden score) have won 16% of their shared mounts since 2019.

7. Lightning Fast 8/1 – He broke his maiden in his fourth start, trouncing a 6 1/2-furlong event by 6 lengths at Santa Anita Park in January. He went unraced until July 10, when he finished last of seven against a field of older optional claimers in a local 7-furlong sprint, but he takes a needed class drop while returning to face horses his own age and from his own state.