Bolger Magic Holds On to Win Graduation Stakes

Bolger Magic, a 2-year old gelding, held off favored Little Red Cloud to win the 34th running of the Graduation Stakes, a $50,000-added race for 2-year-olds bred in California, by a nose Wednesday at Del Mar race track.

And while the crowd of 18,135 reacted to the photo-finish sign being removed, the two jockeys involved agreed that the two horses involved were young.

“He just fooled around out there,” said jockey Laffit Pincay of his horse, Little Red Cloud. “He broke on top and dropped back. Coming around the turn, he wanted to drop back. He doesn’t keep his mind on his business. When it looked like he was going to get beat by two or three lengths, he came back to only get beat by a nose.”

The race shaped up as a two-horse race, a sprint between Bolger Magic and Little Red Cloud. In Bolger Magic’s only previous start, he led from the start and broke his maiden by 10 lengths. Little Red Cloud, a 4-5 favorite Wednesday, won his first start May 17 by six lengths and then finished second twice to unbeaten Hilco Scamper.

Little Red Cloud broke on top, but quickly fell back to fifth on the backstretch, a head in front of Bolger Magic. Jockey Rafael Meza moved Bolger Magic to third entering the turn, and Little Red Cloud was a half-length back.

Surely, neither Meza nor Pincay expected to be trailing horses and having to move outside as they approached the stretch.

“He broke a little green, too green,” Meza said. “But they slowed it down good to a 46 3/5 half. He got clear, shot through and opened up two. He never changed leads and was getting a little tired. But he dug in and hung in tough. He was much the best.”

Being the best Wednesday was worth $32,650 to owners Wallace Dollase, Mike Marino and Verne Winchell. Bolger Magic, son of Bolger and Adasparkle, covered the six furlongs in 1:11 1/5. It was also the first stakes winner for Dollase, who also serves as the horse’s trainer.

“It’s a shame Wallace couldn’t be here,” said Yves Seguin, Dollase’s assistant. “He’s in Europe right now looking at some horses and won’t be back until Wednesday.”

Any decision on where Dollase will place Bolger Magic next will have to wait until he returns to Del Mar.

Bolger Magic paid $7, 2.60 and 2.40. Little Red Cloud paid $2.20 and 2.20. Lay A.C. was third, three-and-a-half lengths back, and paid $3.60.

Del Mar Notes

In Wednesday’s third race, 1 1/16 miles on the turf, 3-year-old filly Pleasure Lover broke down 50 yards from the finish and lunged into the rail, throwing jockey Eddie Delahoussaye. Delahoussaye, the fourth-leading jockey in the nation, was examined by track doctors and suffered a sore tail bone. He was excused from the rest of his day’s mounts. Pleasure Lover sustained a compound fracture of the left front ankle, and had to be destroyed. . . . One bettor picked all six winners in Wednesday’s pick-six and won $60,863.80.