Two of the top 3-year-olds at Del Mar, outside of the Bob Baffert barn, will meet again on Sunday in the 80th running of the Grade 2, $300,000 Del Mar Derby.
Formidable Man (8-5) and Stay Hot (5-2), the top two-morning line choices, previously raced against each other at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby day. However, Stay Hot had a disappointing run.
"He didn’t handle the trip to Kentucky well," trainer Peter Eurton said, reflecting on Stay Hot's last-place finish in the American Turf (G2). "He got hot and sweaty, and I schooled him too much. There was too much anxiety, though I’m not sure why. Perhaps it was just too many races at once, but he benefited from two months off."
That break paid off, as Stay Hot returned with a victory in the $100,000 La Jolla Handicap at Del Mar on August 4.
"We were very pleased with his last race. How could you not be?" Eurton said. "He closed into an average pace and didn’t just win by a nose like he usually does."
Before his trip to Kentucky, Stay Hot had won three consecutive stakes races, each by a narrow margin—a neck, a head, and a head. Eurton anticipates another close finish in the Del Mar Derby, where Stay Hot will face Oceanside Stakes winner Formidable Man and Real Good Deal Stakes victor Curlin’s Kaos.
Formidable Man finished second, well ahead of Stay Hot, in the American Turf and later placed sixth in the $275,000 Audubon Stakes, also at Churchill Downs. He then returned to Southern California, where he impressed by overtaking a strong field in the Oceanside Stakes.
"We saw a new side of him in the Oceanside," trainer Mike McCarthy said. "He got a bit shuffled back early but finished with a big run."
Formidable Man has shown he can stay close to the pace, as he did in all his races before the Oceanside.
"I’ll leave it up to Umberto [Rispoli] where to place him," McCarthy added. "I imagine he’ll be closer than he was last time. He’s maintained his form this summer, and we’re expecting another strong performance."
Meanwhile, Curlin’s Kaos led from start to finish in the $150,000 Real Good Deal Stakes, securing a 5 3/4-length victory and giving trainer Antonio García his first stakes win at Del Mar.
"He really impressed us," García said. "The horse has always had talent. Putting the blinkers back on definitely gave him more confidence and focus, and he showed it that day."
The Real Good Deal was a seven-furlong dirt race, but the Del Mar Derby will be run over 1 1/8 miles on the turf.
"He’s been very versatile on both surfaces," García noted. "He’s done really well on turf. I think with how the track is playing, he can get out quickly and be tough to catch."
Guy Named Joe, who finished second in the Oceanside, will also be in the mix, coming from the back of the pack along with Formidable Man.
"You know he tries hard every time," trainer Doug O’Neill said. "In these top turf races, so much relies on getting a good, ground-saving trip. They’re so evenly matched. We have J.J. [Hernández] riding him, and we’re optimistic we can pull off a little upset here."
O’Neill is confident that distance won’t be an issue, stating that the son of American Pharoah will "run all day."
The Del Mar Derby is the eighth race of Sunday’s 10-race card, with a scheduled start time of 8:02 p.m. EDT. The first post is at 4:30 p.m.