DEL Handicap (Grade 1)- $750.000 Purse
DEL- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
July 18, 2015

The 2015 DEL Handicap always looked like a wide open race.  Most of the horses in the field, when looking at their past performances, were ones that you could make a very good case for as to why they were the horse to beat.   When the morning lines came out, there was no one that was made a clear cut favorite with seven of the 11 in the race put at 5/1 or 6/1.  There was a 10/1, and a couple 12/1’s, and only Piston Broke, at 30/1 seemed to not be given any chance.   Then, as if that wasn’t enough to make this a tough race to bet on, we had some rain pass through this area, just enough to get the track only in a “good” state.  After running a mile and a quarter out there, it would be A Class Angie hitting the finish line first.  We thought highly of her, but she was one of those 12/1’s on the morning line as perhaps some were scared off too much by her outside post. This victory is the third Grade 1 in which A Class Angie has won, and in fact all four of his wins are graded stake wins, as she never really bothered running with maidens in her career.   Night Rider Stables is the winning trainer, earning his first career DEL Handicap win, and the winning jockey was V Carrasco, riding the horse for the first time.  Carrasco also earned his first win in this stake.  Let us take a deeper look now at how this race unfolded!

1st- 11- A Class Angie (12/1)- Our eventual race winner got off to a rather average start, and settled into a midpack position.   This is where she remained around the opening turn, and into the backstretch.  Over the course of the backstretch run, V Carrasco kept her in striking range and started to encourage forward a bit before they reached the turn.  She ran well in the turn, and once at the top of the stretch, she has taken over the lead.   There was a lot of battling for position behind her and A Class Angie was happy to let them have at it while she began to pull away by a little bit.  She gracefully raced to wire, well ahead of the rest of the pack, winning by about two lengths.   The time of the race on the good DEL track was 2:03.78.  That time is slightly better then the 2013 win time of Avery Island, which was also on a good track.   A Class Angie is a four year old filly by Don’t Look Back Raj and out of Fieldsofanfieldroad, who is by Trotters Dream.   She was bred in Florida by Night Rider Stables, the only trainer in which she has ever known.  Congratulations to all of the connections!

2nd- 10- Bonne Journee (6/1)- The filly from Night Mare Racing got off to a quick start, running second in the early going and this allowed her starting post to never be a hindrance.  She was good in the turn, then draw level with Charred Mayhem in the backstretch, before ultimately completing that pass.  Maintained the lead into the turn, but would be passed for the lead upon exit of the turn.  She never gave in, and with some battling for position going on behind her, she was ahead of that enough early in the stretch to hang on at the very end for second, and keeping me from hitting the boxed superfecta!

3rd- 2- Ambient (16/1)- The top performer form Mb Stables started towards the back at the start while maintaining a comfortable position along the rail.  Fared well in the backstretch, completing a couple passes, and with the inside lane essentially unoccupied when Sinissippi Delite moved out a bit, she had good room to advance.  Unfortunately, that room did not last forever as she had to maneuver around Charred Mayhem, who was running in reverse.  Once clear of her, she made a valiant bid, but needed another stride or two to pass Bonne Journee.

4th- 7- Devil Wears Prada (5/1)- She was the slight favorite in this field, but the Maverick Racing entry was well off the pace early, something of which is not common for her (but not the first time).  After biding her time in the backstretch, J R Velazquez moved her outside for the turn in hopes of making a powerful move.   He got the move from her that he was hoping for, but he had to go about seven wide in order to do this.    She did well, and would just need better racing luck in the future.

5th- 1- Sinissippi Delite (5/1)- Got off to a good start in her Axeman debut, stalking the top two by about two lengths while running along the rail.  Looked for room to follow Bonnue Journee up the middle while in the turn.  Maintained a consistent stride throughout the turn and into the stretch.  Once there, she didn’t run poorly, but seemed to be lacking the same kind of stretch kick and looked to be laboring late.

6th- 5- Zero Hour (11/1)- The Sanny Village entry was right beside Sinissippi Delite in the early stages of the race.  Remained midpack for the run into the final turn, and started to get in rather cramped quarters at this time.  Ended up being caught in one of the wider lanes for the stretch when a bunch of them seemed to be running side by side.  Of that pack, she was pretty much in the middle.  Not a bad race, but a bit mediocre.

7th- 4- Helping Hand (7/1)- The second best Mb Stables finisher did not really have the result the trainer wanted from his second best performer.   Her start was rather uneventful, beginning towards the back.  The same held true for her backstretch run, and run into the turn.  In the stretch, only Devil Wears Prada was in a lane more wide then she was, but unlike that one, she was unable to progress.

8th- 3- Piston Broke (32/1)- The longest shot on the board was content to run with her stablemate, Helping Hand, not only early on, but also within the backstretch, and during the turn.  Unfortunately for their trainer, neither was doing much advancing.  She was able to keep with the pack in the stretch, but never made a bid to advance.

9th- 6- Pretty As A Picture (8/1)- Often a quick starter, this Mb Stables entry was left behind early, running about six lengths from the leaders.  Disappointed during the turn when Devil Wears Prada, who has been behind her, made her move, and Pretty As A Picture had no interest to run with her.  If there was going to be a late run, she simply had no running room, but I don’t believe that there would have been one forthcoming.

10th- 9- Rosemari Perfect (7/1)- The Ekli Stables entry could see them all in front of her in the early stages.   Enjoying this view, it continued for the backstretch run, and into the turn.   Tried to advance in the stretch, but there was a roadblock in front of her, essentially leaving her hopeless even if she did have the leg kick to make a run at the leaders.

11th- 8- Charred Mayhem (6/1)- Started quickly out of the gate for Team 7 Illusions, and led the field into the opening turn.  Handled the turn well, running the half-mile in :48.40, but would soon relinquish the lead to Bonne Journee in the backstretch.  Lost interest in the turn and eventually dropped all the way to the back.

Track: Good
Time: :48²  1:12⁴  1:37⁴  2:03³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 11 – 10 Paid 107.40
$1 Trifecta: 11 – 10 – 2 Paid 1,328.50

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I