GII Pat O'Brien S.

It has always been a small farm, and nowadays they're down to no more than half a dozen mares. Some of the more strenuous duties, moreover, have lately been contracted out. After all, Alfonso Mazzetti is not as young as he was. It's been a long and winding road since he used to ride a motorcycle, aged just 11, to the racetrack in Lima where he would shoot pool with the jockeys; never mind the many years in Colorado in between. Such a long and winding road, in fact, that...

For a horse that has won the richest race in the world, Saturday's $250,000 GII Pat O'Brien S. at Del Mar might not seem like an overly difficult spot. But when Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) heads to the post for Saturday's race, he probably won't be the favorite and there will no doubt be some wiseguys who throw him out altogether. The problems are threefold: He's not a seven-furlong horse; he will not have run for 147 days; he'll be facing the best sprinter on the West Coast in the California-bred...

The GII Pat O'Brien S. was billed as a softer spot for GISW Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) to land after facing leading older horses Flightline (Tapit) and Life Is Good (Into Mischief) in his last two starts, but apparently the lightly raced Laurel River (Into Mischief--Calm Water, by Empire Maker) didn't get the memo as he stormed home to take the seven-furlong Del Mar sprint, a "Win and You're In" race for the GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Laurel River broke smoothly and immediately attended the pace...