DEL MAR : Warning Zone Leads Field for Feature Race

Nine of the better fillies and mares on the grounds have been entered in the headline event on Del Mar’s second program of the season, the Fantastic Girl Overnight Stakes. Thursday’s race will carry a gross purse of $62,050 and reward the winner with $35,050.

Warning Zone has been assigned high weight of 119 pounds. The 5-year-old mare by Inverness Drive will have jockey Rafael Meza for the run out of Del Mar’s seven-furlong chute in what will be her eighth start of 1990.

Here’s the complete lineup for the main event in post position order with their riders and weights: Chalk Box, 112 pounds, jockey Robbie Davis; Sexy Slew, 115, Julio Garcia; Kiwi, 114, Alex Solis; Peppy’s Kingdom, 112, Kent Desormeaux; Warning Zone; Inverness Lady, 113, Ray Sibille; Tiffany’s Gem, 109, David Flores; Felida, 112, Gary Stevens, and Jig’s Jove, 115, Pat Valenzuela.

Warning Zone, a Florida-bred, races out of the stable of Ron McAnally, who won his second Del Mar training title in 1989 (he also won in 1980). The bay mare was last out July 11 at Hollywood Park when she was nipped by a nose at the wire by Jablina Brown in an allowance mile race.

In her previous start, June 2 at Golden Gate Fields, Warning Zone ran six furlongs in 1:08 3/5 to capture the Orinda Handicap as the odds-on choice. She has won eight of 23 starts with four seconds and four thirds for earnings of $286,450.

Jig’s Jove comes into the contest after a victory over allowance stock at Hollywood on July 12, a day she covered six furlongs in 1:09 3/5 to win by 3 1/2 lengths at the wire. The 4-year-old filly by Northern Jove has won half of her eight lifetime starts and has been out of the money only once for earnings just shy of $90,000. The Kentucky-bred races for San Diegan Edmund Gann out of Robert Frankel’s barn.

Sexy Slew is coming into the Thursday test off a victory June 17 at Hollywood. The bay filly by Slew O’Gold has won four of 12 trips to the post and sports $100,000 in winnings.