Big bet winner Lieutenant Dan overcame a 10 month layoff and posted 9 to win the $152,500 Green Flash Stakes (G3T) on September 4th at Del Mar.
Stalled horse hunter in California Dubai Key until the leader drifts out two lines in the upper segment. Juan Hernandez sent favorites 4-5 through the hole, and they took the lead inside the eighth column and shortened 1 1/4 of their length through a 9-1 shot. Road lane . Coulthard third, one head back.
This is Lieutenant Dan’s first start for coach Steve Miyadi since he finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1T) at Del Mar, and he won an automatic berth on the renewal. this year at Keeneland. He runs 5 stretches on a certain path in: 55.87 after chasing fractions of: 21.77 and: 44.54. He paid $3.80 and improved his career record to 9-18 with a third-place bet win over the past year. That record begins with the Blue Lightning in 2021.
The remarkably consistent gelding shot ended worse than third only once, and he went 9 to 9 with the money on the pitch. He raised $90,000 to bring his total to $923,740 for breeder Nick Alexander.
Son of a California stud Grazen Get out Exusabull, daughter of Charlie India. Grazen selected 16 winners, while Lieutenant Dan was Exusabull’s sole winner out of the eight ponies participating in the race.
Midnight Memories Takes Torey Pines . stake
Midnight Memories , a 3-year-old daughter of Mastery, entered the race on Sunday after a lone defeat in her young career. Bob Baffert’s intern didn’t even beat her record.
Midnight Memories and cyclist Ramon Vazquez win the Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar
Out of the gate quickly, Midnight Memories led from start to finish but not before beating a game challenger to take home the $125,000 Torey Pines Stakes (G2) at Del Mar.
She finished the 3-year-old mile race at 1:36.32. She posted fractions of: 23.25, :46.95, 1:11.23 and 1:23.63.
Midnight Memories took the lead, overtaking its five opponents and moving along the tracks. With Ramon Vazquez on board, Midnight Memories kept the field flying as they approached a half-mile-long power pole. However, Desert dawn and Umberto Rispoli never allowed the leader to go too far out of reach, stalking from a back length.
At the third column of the eighth, Rispoli moved outside, urging his horse to move forward, closing the gap with a head. As they made their way down the ramp, the race turned into a fight between the two. But Midnight Memories has more reserves and lasts up to 3/4 of the duration of Desert Dawn.
In addition to Tiz Midnight, of Midnight Lute, Midnight Memories improved to 3-0-1 in four starts. She also earned the lion’s share of her career winnings on Sunday, which amounted to $166,680.
The hybrid of Michael Pegram, Paul Weitman and Karl Watson returned $13 on a $2 bet. Desert dawn; Grace Adler , another Baffert intern; and Cinnamon Cat round the top three.
Video: Blue Lightning H. (G3T)
