Palomar Handicap : McCarron’s Luck Turns Sour on Aberuschka

For most of Sunday, Chris McCarron was feeling like a guy who went to the race track and picked up someone else’s winning ticket off the ground.

He didn’t know how it happened, but his agent, Scott McClellan, pulled off a big coup, getting him the mount aboard favored Aberuschka in the $107,600 Palomar Handicap at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. And McCarron was feeling good.

Aberuschka won the Palomar last year and Sunday was trying to become the first horse at Del Mar to win the same race two years in a row since Queen To Conquer won the Ramona Handicap back-to-back in 1980 and 1981.

“My agent got me the mount, and I was feeling pretty confident,” McCarron said. “I definitely thought I had the best horse coming in.”

Ah, but then they ran the one-mile race on the turf course--and all of a sudden McCarron wasn’t feeling so lucky.

Aberuschka, despite plenty of urging from McCarron, was caught in the middle of the pack around the far turn and couldn’t get clear for a run down the stretch.

So while she and McCarron struggled, Festivity, a horse McCarron rode earlier this month, found clear sailing on the outside under Alex Solis and flew home to post a half-length victory over Adorable Micol.

Aberuschka never did get into gear and finished a well-beaten sixth.

Festivity, a Harbor View Farm-owned filly out of Spectacular Bid and trained by Laz Barrera, was overlooked by much of the crowd of 26,115, and paid $31.00 to win, $12.40 to place, and $7.40 to show. Adorable Micol, under jockey Fernando Toro, returned $5.20 and $3.40. Secuencia, a 19-1 longshot, ran third and paid $7.60.

Afterward, as might be understood, McCarron wasn’t feeling too festive.

“Hey, that’s the way it goes sometimes,” he said. “I thought I had a good horse coming in but it just wasn’t her day. Things worked out well for Festivity and she had a clear ride to the finish line.”

Actually, Festivity’s good day started just after the starting gate opened.

When McCarron rode her Aug. 5 in a $40,000 allowance race here, the filly broke away from the gate cleanly and took McCarron with her. The horse, however, has had a history of not doing well when she runs on the lead.

“I didn’t want to be on the lead (that day) but I couldn’t contain her,” McCarron remembered. “She runs a lot better when she can be taken back at the beginning.”

As history goes, Festivity was true to form on the lead Aug. 5. She faded coming down the stretch, and Adorable Micol and Aberuschka both passed her.

Sunday, Barrera gave Solis instructions to be patient with the horse before letting her run free. And Solis was successful with a little help.

“At the start, Festivity got boxed in a little bit and couldn’t get running right away,” McCarron said. “I think that helped Solis hold her back. Then she had plenty of running left for the stretch drive.”

It was a good thing.

After Short Sleeves set the early pace, five horses--including Aberuschka and Festivity--were all in a line heading for home. It had all the makings off a wild finish.

“As we turned for home, I felt my horse pulling me along,” Solis said. “Laz had told me to take it easy with her in the post parade and save as much of her energy as possible. Everything worked out well.”

Festivity slipped by Secuencia with one-eighth-of-a-mile to go and had enough left to hold off Toro and Adorable Micol who pulled up on her outside.

The victory was good medicine for Barrera who has been hurting this week because of a pinched nerve in his neck. He took off his neck brace just long enough to pose for the photo in the winner’s circle.

“I couldn’t understand why McCarron got off my horse,” Barrera said. “He was surprised she ran to the front in her last race and he knew that she ran better from the middle of the pack. Sometimes things just work out that way.”