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Prince Earl wins Del Mar Mile

Prince Earl, a 4-year-old gelding stabled at the San Luis Rey Training Center, won the Del Mar Mile Stakes race, Aug. 18, at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.

Although he entered the stretch sixth among the 10 horses competing, Prince Earl won the one-mile turf race by three-quarters of a length over second-place Sharp Samurai.

“The strategy was just to utilize the post position and save as much run as we could,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “All of those things worked out the way we hoped.”

The race was the fifth for Prince Earl, who won his first two career races last year as a 3-year-old and finished fourth in two stakes races at the Del Mar fall meet. The Del Mar Mile was Prince Earl’s first race of 2019.

“We’ve been very patient to find the right race to debut him at, and it worked out,” D’Amato said. “We had a lot of high expectations. We kind of had a lot of confidence in him.”

The Del Mar Mile was also the first time Geovanni Franco was Prince Earl’s jockey.

“I told him that if there looked like there was speed in the race just utilize your post position, save ground,” D’Amato said. “He followed instructions to a ‘T.’”

“Speed” refers to horses who go out fast and win if they build up enough of a lead to hold off the horses who do better in closing.

The post position creates the risk of being boxed in, which is an issue if the plan is to go to the front early. The advantage of the post position is that the circumference is shorter around the turns, which ceases to be an advantage after the horses leave the final turn other than that the horse on the inside hasn’t expended as much effort.

Prince Earl broke seventh. He was sixth after a quarter of a mile, 3 3/4 lengths behind leader What a View and a head in back of Sharp Samurai, who was fifth at the time. What a View also led half a mile into the race and was 4 1/2 lengths in front of Prince Earl, who was still in sixth while letting fifth-place Sharp Samurai build up a 1 1/2-length advantage.

Sharp Samurai moved up to fourth three-quarters of a mile into the race. El Picaro had taken over fifth place and was half a length in front of Prince Earl, who remained in sixth and was 3 3/4 lengths behind What a View.

What a View still led entering the stretch and was a head in front of Sharp Samurai. Bolo was in fifth and led Prince Earl by a head. The distance between What a View and Prince Earl was 2 1/2 lengths.

Prince Earl was able to make up that ground and more. Sharp Samurai defeated third-place Grecian Fire by a nose.

“He accomplished it,” D’Amato said.

Prince Earl had a winning time of 1:33.13.

The Del Mar Mile had a $200,000 total purse, so the first-place share was $120,000. That amount increased Prince Earl’s career earnings to $224,778.

Prince Earl was foaled in California March 30, 2015. He was sired by Paddy O’Prado out of Soo Steamy.

The fall races at Santa Anita Park will include the City of Hope Mile stakes race Oct. 5, and that may be the next race for Prince Earl. Santa Anita will also host the Breeders’ Cup races Nov. 1-2, and D’Amato is contemplating the Breeders’ Cup Mile for Prince Earl.

Author Bio

Joe Naiman, Writer

Joe Naiman has been writing for the Village News since 2001

 

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