San Diego Handicap (Grade 2)- $300.000 Purse
DMR- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
July 27, 2024

After a tough race in the Wise Dan, One Last Punch Line returned to the main track in hopes of getting back into the win column. He had won two of three before the Wise Dan and is certainly not a stranger to running on the dirt. Despite that, he would be one of the longest shots on the board, at odds of 13/1. He would employ his typical strategy of coming from the back, and it would work to perfection here as he won by a length and a half. We did have One Last Punch Line as our fourth pick in a six-horse field, so while he was there, we certainly were not expecting him to win, either. Congratulations to his trainer, Alydar Stables, and the jockey F Geroux on their win, which is the first San Diego Handicap victory for each. The time of the win was 1:40.32, second only to the late Fab Four’s effort in 2012. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :23.15)- Tehran is sent out to the lead early by Mb Stables, but he is not able to pull away as TwinTowersRacing’s Nutmeg within a half-length to his outside. Chagrin Falls stalks the top two for Mo Mentum Farm, and then we have about a two-length gap to the fourth place Caveat Emptor, from High Voltage. A length behind him is where we find our eventual winner, the Alydar Stables- trained One Last Punch Line running side by side with Asgar’s Luna Dream.

(½ Mile- :46.60)- Not much changes during the second quarter mile, with Tehran still a half-length in front of Nutmeg, and Chagrin Falls continuing to stalk them on the rail. It’s still about two to Caveat Emptor in fourth, and a length and a half to One Last Punch Line and Luna Dream. Safe to say then, the field was just riding things out at this stage of the race.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Things remained the same for the duration of the backstretch, and early in the final turn. Midway into the turn, however, Nutmeg was unable to keep pace with Tehran and began to drop out of it. Tehran, himself, was looking very comfortable out in front. Another horse that was coming up empty was Chagrin Falls, who only lost ground towards the end of the backstretch. Caveat Emptor would slowly reel that one in, but by the time he caught him, he had some company to his outside as One Last Punch Line prepared to fly by both of them. He had begun his run midway into the turn and was already looking like the only one who had a shot at Tehran. His early running mate, Luna Dream, did not have the same, or even similar, push.

(Finish- 1:40.32)- With a furlong to go, Tehran was all by himself in the lead of the race and the only one gaining on him was One Last Punch Line. But the Alydar Stables runner was coming quickly, and approaching the wire, he exploded with run that no one else in the field could match, and this would allow him to sail by Tehran easier than it seemed like it was going to be. He would win while pulling away, by a length and a half. Caveat Emptor ends up third in a photo over Nutmeg. Perhaps, with just a little more distance, that one could have caught Tehran. Luna Dream was next, with a fatigued Chagrin Falls running last.

About The Winner- One Last Punch Line, trained by Alydar Stables and ridden to victory by F Geroux, is a five-year-old gelding by Punch Line and is out of Adventuria. He was bred by Jediminds Stable in California as a first quarter two-year-old, and was acquired by Alydar Stables for $205.000 in a June 2021 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his eighth in 31 starts, his third stake win and second graded win. His career earnings are now $506.080.

Track: Fast
Time: :23  :46³  1:10¹  1:40¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 1 Paid 32.70
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 1 – 5 Paid 69.10

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES