DEL Handicap (Grade 2)- $750.000 Purse
DEL- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
July 14, 2018

The DEL Handicap looked like a race that might come down to Osmium and Queenwood battling it out, and that is exactly how it happened. I gave Queenwood the edge over Osmium because of the three extra pounds that Osmium had to carry. Although, I didn’t pick her to be any further back then second. These two provided a fantastic finish for us, thanks to a late bid by Queenwood. This makes D J C Racing Stables a first time winner of the race, so congratulations to him, as well as first-time winning jockey, C J Lanerie. The time of the win was 2:01.89, so it was not one of the quicker runnings of the race, but it was all that was need. Here’s a look at it!

(½ Mile- :45.59)- This race gets off to quite a quick start as both Misscarlet, from Broken Spoke Stables, and Raven Rock, from Team 7 Illusions are off an running right from the beginning. On the inside, Mb Stables had pair also breaking quite alertly, as both Updated and Down And Out were strong heading into the turn, as well. Therefore, despite the quick fraction, Misscarlet and Raven Rock did not open up a huge lead, and had a length advantage over their two Mb stalkers. Fit To Be Tied, out of TwinTowersRacing, ran fifth, but three lengths off the lead as she tried to hold a more reasonable spot on the track early. Next came our eventual winner, Osmium, and the D J C Racing Stables filly was fine with being four lengths off the pace. A pair from Team 7 Illusions, Bonkers and Jesse The Stewardess were next in line, hoping their stablemate would wear down other front runners. Queenwood, from Smokey Stover, was seven lengths back after not being that great out of the gate, but moving up to be closer to the pack. Way back were K T D (Aer Stables), and off the viewer was On The Jersey Shore (Spankys Barn).

(3/4 Mile- 1:09.40)- The ambitious leaders would slow down the pace in the backstretch. Misscarlet continued to hold on to the lead, but it was starting to look like it was too much for Raven Rock. Updated and Down And Out were still side by side, and moved up a spot as Raven Rock slipped back. Both Fit To Be Tied and Osmium may have looked like they were advancing here, when really, they were maintaining their stride as the front four slowed it up a bit. Queenwood was running a smart race for a horse with her style, and had moved to be between Bonkers and Jesse The Stewardess here, and trailing by six and a half lengths. Further back, K T D was starting to fall off the viewer herself while On The Jersey Store may have been in Jersey at this point, as she could not be seen.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- As they moved around the turn, Down And Out pushed to the outside of Misscarlet and looked to make a methodical pass for the race lead. That would be fine, but what she didn’t count on was the powerful move from Osmium, who had the perfect lane at this point in the race, and C J Lanerie made sure to take full advantage of it. With a calculated advance, she took over the lead without much difficulty towards the exit of the turn, and emerged at the top of the stretch with a lead of nearly a length over Down And Out, and Misscarlet had dropped to third. Fit To Be Tied looked like she might join Osmium with a run around the turn, but did not have the some strength in her stride. Updated was coming up a little empty. Meanwhile, we started to have some new players joining the fun. On the far outside, Jesse The Stewardess ran exceptionally well in the turn as she took the Team 7 baton from Raven Rock, and had moved up all the way into the fourth position. She seemed certain to be a challenger for the lead at this point. Queenwood, who not too long ago was running with Jesse The Stewardess, was now two lengths behind her, but that did not bother Queenwood, who waited to the top of the stretch to kick it into gear. Three and a half lengths was going to be tough to make up on Osmium, however. Bonkers was trying to keep pace, though Raven Rock was satisfied with doing her part for the team. Meanwhile, both K T D and On The Jersey Shore had moved up considerably, with the latter actually making up six lengths while in the turn. They still had work to do, but this is what they were waiting for, and it was time for each of them to show their stuff.

(Finish- 2:01.89)- With a furlong to go, Osmium looked like she had it in bag. Queenwood was making an emphatic outside move, but it looked to just be a second place effort. Osmium was still ahead of her by two lengths, and even with half a furlong to go, it was just under two lengths. Queenwood would not give in, but Osmium was not about to give it up, either, and in a finish that ended up being close, Osmium prevails over Queenwood for an exciting victory. Jesse The Stewardess runs third with a fine effort, but was also outrun by Queenwood by three lengths in the stretch, so take what you want out of that. If you want to talk about powerful stretch runs, though, both K T D and On The Jersey Shore were exciting to watch. You knew they weren’t gonna have time to get the win, but they were each the best of them all at this point, and K T D gets a fourth place check for her effort, just missing out on third. Fit To Be Tied’s steady effort has her fifth, slightly ahead of On The Jersey Shore. Down And Out lived up to her name when it came time to run in the stretch, and ends up seventh, ahead of Bonkers, Misscarlet, and Updated. Wait, there was one more, and ahead of Raven Rock, too.

About The Winner- Osmium, trained by D J C Racing Stables and ridden to victory by C J Lanerie, is a four year old filly by Copper Bottom, and is out of Real Character. She was bred in New York by Team 7 Illusions as a third quarter two year old, and acquired by D J C unraced, in private sales in August 2016 for $110.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her seventh in 16 starts, her fifth stake win, and fourth graded win. Her career earnings are now $1,068.38.

Track: Fast
Time: :45²  1:09²  1:35   2:01⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 3 Paid 19.70
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 3 – 8 Paid 824.00

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES