Art made a late surge along the track, taking the lead in the final stretch to win the Del Mar Juvenile Turf (G3T) at Del Mar September 8. This victory also brought the first victory for his father’s black horse breed. Catalina Cruiser .
“It’s all credit to the horse; I mean he fit in an easy hole,” said rider Reylu Gutierrez. “Not many horses have the guts to do that, especially horses his age. He saved ground the whole way, he wasn’t rated at all, you know, horses usually go 5 ½ (furlongs) to a mile, it’s tough. This horse is a real pro. His future is bright. I thought he would run a mile, and he did everything we expected of him in the morning.”
Mischief River took control of the race at the finish line and appeared to be coming on stronger as he led a 13-man pack into the lead by half a mile. After beating a rival, it became a question of whether the sprint would lead to a crown or a collapse.
This has proven the following.
Gutierrez stayed in the middle of the pack along the rail, allowing the pack to thin out. Holding Artislas on the inside, Gutierrez added urgency at the halfway mark. With four lengths and other rivals separating Artislas from the lead, Mischief River was slowly losing ground, helping their cause.
Some horses had caught up with the leader, but Artislas along the track was not only the clearest path forward, but also the one with the most remaining tanks. There was not even a final charge. Saber teeth would deny Artislas, who won by half a horse’s length.
“He sat in fourth or fifth and just went for a walk. I told Reylu to be patient; hopefully he’ll get somewhere to go and hopefully he’ll have a horse when it’s time to go and he’ll say, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll have a horse,'” said trainer Jeff Mullins.
The race had times of :22.18, :46.61, 1:12.21 and 1:24.44. Artislas finished in 1:36.53.
saber teeth, Scipio and Mischief River ranked second through fourth. Artislas returned $17.20 on a $2 winning ticket.
Owned by Irving Ventures (Ruben Islas, Jr.), Michelle Arthur, William Meathe and Jeanne Tumanjan, Artislas improved to 2-0-0 in two starts after breaking his first record on August 2 at Del Mar. Bred by the University of Kentucky, the colt earned $105,000.
Mullins said the ownership group was formed by Michael Pender, who purchased the colt for $100,000 at the Ocala Breeders 2-Year-Old Horse Auction in March 2024 from the Omar Ramirez stallion consignment.
In 2024, the Catalina Cruiser was sold at Lane’s End near Versailles, Ky. for $10,000.
Video: Del Mar Juvenile S. (G3T) Grass Field
