DEL MAR : Slow Fractions Help Flawlessly : Win; Favored Kostroma Fourth

DEL MAR — Any concerns Charlie Whittingham had about the outcome of the $322,500 Ramona Handicap were eased in the early stages of the race.

Even with seven furlongs left to be run, the trainer had every reason to be confident. His filly, Flawlessly, was loping on the lead, getting away with a 26-second first quarter, a 51 3/5 half-mile and an extremely slow 1:15 3/5 for six furlongs before bearing down in the final three-eighths of a mile.

The 4-year-old Affirmed filly finished in 34 2/5 to win by three lengths over 15-1 shot Re Toss and give Whittingham his second consecutive Ramona victory and sixth overall.

In beating Kostroma for the third time in four meetings, the 7-5 second choice now has eight victories in nine starts on turf. Her only defeat was a second-place finish behind Kostroma in the Yellow Ribbon Handicap on Nov. 10.

“She’ll run as slow as they let her or as fast as they make her,” jockey Chris McCarron said of Flawlessly. “In the mornings, she breezes faster than she ran today. That’s one of the things you’ve got to watch with her.

“She wants to give you so much of herself, she can give you too much in the mornings. She’s something. She’s marvelous.”

Now perfect in three starts over the Del Mar turf, Flawlessly is bound for Illinois and the Beverly D. Handicap on Sept. 5.

“I quit worrying after the first quarter of a mile,” Whittingham said of the Ramona. “You can put her anywhere. She’s just a push-button horse, a once-in-a-lifetime horse. When they went that slow, I was whistling.”

When Flawlessly beat Kostroma by a head in the Beverly Hills Handicap on June 28 at Hollywood Park, the 6-year-old Caerleon mare was never more than a half-length behind Flawlessly. Both jockey Kent Desormeaux and trainer Gary Jones thought the hard Hollywood Park turf bothered Kostroma’s hoofs and they hoped things might be different with the switch to the softer Del Mar course.

But instead of staying close to Flawlessly again, Desormeaux and Kostroma, the 11-10 favorite, dropped back to fourth. Running against horses who were allowed to rest early on, they weren’t able to make up any ground and wound up fourth, beaten also by Re Toss and 10-1 shot Polemic.

“I don’t know what I can do to beat her,” Desormeaux said of Flawlessly. “I made it obvious to everyone three jumps away from there that I wasn’t going to go head-and-head with her. I tried that last time and I couldn’t beat her.

“If (the other jockeys) are going to let McCarron get away with a 26 (fraction) on the lead, then nobody is going to beat her. I don’t know how we’re going to beat her. The next time they run, there’s got to be something in the field that will make her run. If there is, I’ve got a chance. Otherwise, we’ll never catch her.”

Tight Spot, who hasn’t run since winning the San Francisco Mile on March 21 at Golden Gate Fields, is the 9-5 favorite for the $323,250 Eddie Read Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on the Del Mar turf today.

The defending champion in the Grade I race, Tight Spot is perfect in three starts on the Del Mar turf. He will carry 125 pounds, three more than Golden Pheasant.

A troubled third when 3-5 in the American Handicap last month at Hollywood Park, Golden Pheasant ran third in the 1990 Eddie Read Handicap before returning three weeks later to win the Arlington Million. The Million is again in Whittingham’s plans. Several years earlier, another Whittingham trainee, Perrault, won the Million after losing in the Eddie Read. Gary Stevens will ride Golden Pheasant.

Trainer Bobby Frankel, who has won the race five times, will send out Marquetry and Luthier Enchanteur. They will be coupled in the wagering because Frankel and Morley Engelson recently purchased a share in Marquetry. David Flores will ride Marquetry while Pat Valenzuela will handle Luthier Enchanteur, the only horse in the race with a victory over the course at the meeting.

The rest of the field: Forty Niner Days (Corey Nakatani, 15-1), Leger Cat (Desormeaux, 8-1), Qathif (Alex Solis, 8-1) and Victory Park (Modesto Linares, 30-1).

Eddie Delahoussaye suffered bruises after being involved in a spill during the fifth race Saturday.

Riding 6-5 favorite Enter The Player in the 1 1/8-mile grass race, Delahoussaye, after being unable to squeeze between horses while rallying in the stretch, moved down inside and clipped the heels of Allawinnir, the eventual runner-up. Delahoussaye took off his remaining three mounts.

The stewards conducted an inquiry into the incident, but didn’t change the order of finish. Cluck, ridden by Desormeaux, was the winner.

Horse Racing Notes

With her 10th victory in 16 lifetime starts, Flawlessly has earned $1,012,336 after winning $187,500 Saturday. . . . Jockey Kent Desormeaux won three times Saturday and Eddie Delahoussaye and Chris McCarron won twice apiece. . . . Silvered was fifth in the Ramona, then came Explosive Ele and defending champion Campagnarde.