Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar : Margaret Booth Adds to Upsets

Del Mar’s meeting filled with longshot winners continued Thursday in front of 15,059 fans.

In the featured $50,000-added Torrey Pines Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, Margaret Booth--the longshot on the board at 18-1--rallied for a half-length win with Fernando Toro aboard.

Margaret Booth’s victory, meanwhile, was just another in a long line of upset winners in recent Del Mar features. Wednesday, 10-1 shot Momentus won the Rancho Santa Fe Stakes. And Monday, 40-1 longshot Raipillan took the richest race in track history, the Del Mar Invitational Handicap.

“When your horse is the longest price on the board, you tend to worry a bit,” said John Gosden, the trainer of Thursday’s latest surprise winner. “But around here, lately, it hasn’t meant a thing.”

Margaret Booth broke last in the seven-horse field. Five horses broke quickly, led by Sporting Ack and favored Silent Arrival.

As the speed tired, Toro took hold of his filly and began passing horses. Margaret Booth pulled alongside T.V. Residual at the top of the stretch and won a two-horse duel down the lane by a half-length.

Margaret Booth paid $39.40, $11.80 and $4.80. T.V. Residual returned $4.80 and $3.00 and Sporting Act paid $3.60 to show.

Just as surprising as the longshots has been the poor showing most of the meeting by Gosden’s horses.

With Margaret Booth’s victory, last year’s top trainer has won only five races in 45 starts. The Torrey Pines was Gosden’s first stakes win.

Toro, like Gosden, hasn’t had many winners at this summer’s meeting. Thursday’s victory was only his ninth of the meet and first stakes victory.

However, this has still been a week to remember for Toro. He’s still riding high after his victory Sunday in the Arlington Million aboard Estrapade.

In fact, after Thursday’s race, apprentice jockey Corey Black was ribbing the 45-year-old jockey about finally getting his first stakes win of the meeting.

“That may be true,” Toro said. “But, after Sunday, who cares?”

Del Mar Notes Thursday, for the third straight day, no one at the track had won the pick six, creating a $524,881 carry-over pool for today, the second largest in track history.