DEL MAR : Miserden Finds the Dirt Is Greener, Pays $68 for Upset Cabrillo Victory

Although it didn’t seem possible, the $326,300 Cabrillo Handicap lived down to expectations.

With Criminal Type, Quiet American, Lively One and Kansas City sitting it out for various reasons, the race looked more like a classified allowance contest.

In light of the result, the Cabrillo would seem to be in danger of losing its Grade III status.

Miserden, the longest shot in the field at 33-1 and the 111-pound lightweight, outfinished favored Notorious Pleasure to win by a half-length in 1:48 for the 1 1/8 miles on the main track.

Never better than fourth in five previous starts in the United States, the 4-year-old Private Account colt hadn’t won since Nov. 11, 1988, when he beat Louis Cyphre by a nose in a Group I race at St. Cloud in France.

Providing David Flores with his biggest victory, Miserden, who returned $68, $20.40 and $10.80, was on or near the lead throughout and got the best of Notorious Pleasure, the 3-1 choice, in the final yards. Three lengths back was Bosphorus, who finished three-quarters of a length ahead of Charlatan III.

“I always thought this horse could run,” trainer Bobby Frankel said. “Today, he proved it. I always thought he would be a better dirt runner than a turfer. The one other time I ran him on dirt (June 13 at Hollywood Park) he ran OK, but he needed the race.

“I tried him on the grass, but I thought he’d go better when he got a chance to run back on dirt. I’ve had him the last four months. He trains good and acts good and he just figured to do good one of these days. This looked like a relatively easy race and I wanted to give him a chance to prove himself.”

In collecting his third victory in 12 lifetime starts, Miserden made Flores work for his first Del Mar stakes victory. The 22-year-old rider, who won a record 36 races during the recent 18-night Los Alamitos meeting, returned tired and perspiring heavily.

“He’s a lazy horse and I had to ask him after the five-eighths pole,” he said. “Bobby told me to either go to the lead or to wait in second or third. It worked out well.”

Notorious Pleasure, who is probably a better horse on the turf, had no excuses, according to Laffit Pincay.

“He tried,” he said. “I thought I had the other horse two or three times, but he just never gave up.”

In his return to California, Aaron Gryder finished seventh aboard No Marker, the second choice. Perhaps, all the shipping the 6-year-old Grey Dawn II horse has done this year finally caught up with him. He had two victories and a second in his last three starts at three different tracks.

“He was done about the three-eighths pole,” said Gryder. “I felt like he was in the garden spot, but he just didn’t have it today. But I can’t complain about his performance. It’s the first bad race he’s run all year.”

Royal Reach, Chris McCarron’s mount in the Cabrillo, finished last, but it was still a big day for the rider.

Two days after returning after recovering from broken legs and a broken arm, McCarron won twice. He slipped through the slimmest of holes along the rail to take the sixth on 2-year-old maiden Magnificent Red, then returned in the ninth to win on $25,000 claimer Saucy Sam.

In winning twice, the jockey equaled the output of Vann Belvoir, agent Scotty McClellan’s client while McCarron was recuperating. A 16-year-old apprentice, Belvoir needed 89 mounts to do so and he returned to Longacres after riding here Friday.

“It felt like I broke my maiden all over,” said McCarron, who was greeted with a warm ovation when he and Magnificent Red made their way into the winner’s circle. “It was ironic that the horse I rode (Full Design) in the spill was for Mr. (John) Mabee (who owns Magnificent Red).

“I didn’t want to be in that tight and I brushed the fence. The ovation was wonderful. It made me feel real good.”

Petite Ile, who almost certainly would have been favored in the $300,000 Del Mar Invitational Handicap a week from Monday, will miss the race.

“It’s a small splint, just below the knee on the cannon bone of her right foreleg,” said trainer Ed Gregson. “X-rays were negative. It’s very minor, but it will make us miss the race. She had been doing well.”

A 4-year-old filly, Petite Ile had worked seven furlongs in 1:24 2/5 a week ago today. She had won the Yerba Buena and Golden Gate Handicaps up north and Hollywood Park’s closing-day Sunset. Gregson hopes to have her back for Oak Tree’s Yellow Ribbon Invitational Nov. 4.

Another stakes winner, Iroquois Park, will be sidelined for at least two months after suffering a knee injury Wednesday.

A $235,000 yearling purchase, the Chief’s Crown colt finished fourth as the even-money favorite in Wednesday’s Balboa Stakes. “He has a slight stress fracture of the knee,” said trainer Wayne Lukas, who owns the horse in partnership with Overbrook and Sugar Maple Farms. “He’ll need 60-90 days of rest.”

At its regular monthly meeting Friday, the California Horse Racing Board approved trifecta wagering.

Now, the trifecta, which requires a fan to pick the first three finishers in a race, must be reviewed by the Office of Administrative Law and filed with the secretary of state. There’s a possibility the trifecta could be implemented sometime in the fall.

Horse Racing Notes

There will be a full field of 12 3-year-old fillies in the $167,900 Del Mar Oaks today. Variety Spice was scratched from the the race, leaving room for one of the three also-eligibles to draw in. By the luck of the draw, Bel’s Starlet is in the Oaks, meaning the Jack Munari-owned entry of Bimbo II and Native Twine won’t be able to run if there are no further scratches.

Bel’s Starlet and Annual Reunion will race coupled and are owned by John Mabee, Del Mar’s former president and a member of the Board of Directors. Besides Annual Reunion and Bel’s Starlet, those scheduled to go in the Oaks, which will be run at 1 1/8 miles on the turf, are Fit To Scout, Adorable Emile, Interlope, Bidder Cream, Nijinsky’s Lover, Freya Stark, Orlanova, Slew Of Pearls, As If and Cat’s Air. . . . There is a Pick Six carryover for today of $176,542.