Maiden Maltese Falcon May Rate Edge Over La Jolla Handicap Rivals

The La Jolla Handicap, a Grade 3 test that is the second of three grass challenges that Del Mar puts forth each year for the 3-year-old set, will be up for grabs Sunday as the featured attraction on an 11-race card that starts at 2 p.m. PT.

This 82nd edition of the La Jolla carries a purse of $150,000 and has drawn eight runners for its 1 1/16-mile presentation. It will be Race 10 on the San Diego county seaside track's afternoon program with a likely post time of 6:30 p.m.

There are no standouts in the lineup, leaving all sorts of possibilities for the last major prep to the track's showcase 3-year-old offering, the Grade 2, $300,000 Caesars Sportsbook Del Mar Derby, which goes on Sunday, Sept. 3.

It doesn't happen often, but there's a legitimate chance that the maiden Maltese Falcon might be the apple of more than a few eyes in the La Jolla. The Irish-bred gelding by the Scat Daddy sire Caravaggio is owned by Red Barons Barn or Rancho Temescal and has been knocking on the door in his five U.S. starts, including a good second in the Cinema Stakes at Santa Anita on June 11.

His connections plead his case further: he's handled by the rising conditioner Leonard Powell and gets the saddle services of the top rider Juan Hernandez. They break from Post 3 in the field.

Here's the complete crew for the La Jolla from the rail out with riders:

C R K Stable's Smart Mo (Joe Bravo in the tack); Muir Hut Stables' Agency (Ramon Vazquez); Maltese Falcon; Lamarock Stable's Justin's Legacy (Hector Berrios); Hronis Racing's Panic Alarm (Umberto Rispoli); CYBT, Nentwig or Pell's Kid Azteca (Asa Espinoza); The Del Mar Group's Henry Q (Antonio Fresu), and Madaket Stables and Convergence Stable's Zalamo (Mike Smith).

Henry Q makes his Del Mar debut in the feature. The Blame colt was most recently in the east running third in Belmont Park's Peter Pan in May, then fifth in Thistledown's Ohio Derby in June – both of them Grade 3 events on dirt. He was a minor stakes winner at Sunland Park in New Mexico earlier this year, winning the Mine That Bird Derby by 14 3/4 lengths. This will be his first race on turf, but he's had two breezes over the Del Mar grass course.

Panic Alarm will be making his U.S. bow on Sunday. The Irish-bred and raced gelding has been in the John Sadler barn since early July and shows a pair of victories from his 2-year-old season and four starts this year, the most recent coming on June 22.

In the race prior to the La Jolla, the 70th running of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Stakes will unfold. The dash for Cal-bred 2-year-old fillies has lured eight lassies out of their barns for a run of 5 1/2 furlongs and a $125,000 purse.