Catch Calexman to Cash in La Jolla

[Wandering Eyes]

With a course-and-distance maiden victory and a latest third in the restricted Oceanside S. over the Jimmy Durante turf course, David and Holly Wilson’s Calexman (Midshipman) clearly likes it at Del Mar and he’ll try to continue the love affair in Sunday’s GII La Jolla H.

A $240,000 OBS April purchase–the most expensive of his sire’s 20 juveniles to sell in 2017–the chestnut turned in a runner-up effort May 17 and a first-level allowance victory June 15 down the hillside course at Santa Anita, then made the majority of the running in the Oceanside, only to be run over late by longshot Restrainedvengeance (Hold Me Back). Calexman raced freely from a wide during the opening couple furlongs on that occasion and even though he’s drawn more favorably this time around, he’ll need to ration out his speed a little better if he is to see out the 8 1/2-furlong journey.

Restrainedvengeance, who raced with blinkers off in the Oceanside, is three pounds worse in the weights this time around with Calexman and those who decide to get in his corner will need to hope that performance was not an aberration and will have to swallow a much skinnier price this time around.

River Boyne (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) is a dual stakes winner, having bested Inscom (Distorted Humor) in the Mar. 17 Pasadena S. in Arcadia and having posted a convincing success at 2-5 in the June 16 Rainbow S. In between, the dark bay was a somewhat troubled fifth as the tepid favorite in the GII American Turf S. at Churchill, but underfoot conditions were abysmal that afternoon and he gets his preferred ground here.

 

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