Skimming Leaves No Doubt, Wins San Diego

Four weeks after their meeting in a controversial Hollywood Gold Cup, Captain Steve, Futural and Skimming raced in the $250,000 San Diego Handicap on Sunday.

This time, the outcome was indisputable. Skimming was first. Futural, who was disqualified from first and placed third in the Gold Cup, was second. Captain Steve, the beaten choice in his previous two starts in Inglewood and Louisville, again lost as the favorite, finishing a distant third with no obvious excuses.

Allowed to utilize his speed, something he wasn’t permitted to do in the Gold Cup, Skimming took the lead into the first turn under jockey Garrett Gomez, set legitimate fractions (23, 45 4/5 and 1:10 1/5 for six furlongs), then held off Futural through the final quarter-mile. He won by a length in 1:41 3/5 for the 1 1/16 miles. It was his third victory in as many races at Del Mar.

Although it wasn’t nearly as easy as last year in the San Diego, when Skimming won by eight lengths over a weaker field for trainer Bobby Frankel and Juddmonte Farms, the 5-year-old son of Nureyev made history.

He became the first horse to win the San Diego in consecutive years since Native Diver completed a three-year sweep of the race in 1965. Frankel also became the first trainer to win the Grade II three years in a row since Buster Millerick, who trained Native Diver. Frankel began his streak with Mazel Trick in 1999.

In three weeks, Skimming will try for another encore. The defending champion in the Pacific Classic, which will be run for the 11th time on Aug. 19, will attempt to become the second two-time winner of that Grade I. Tinners Way scored in 1994-95, providing Frankel with the third and fourth of his record five victories in the race.

“He’s a different horse than he was here last year,” Gomez said. “He’s older and wiser now. He’s matured. He was nice and relaxed today.

“I heard [Futural] come up outside me near the five-sixteenths pole, and so did Skimming. He responded to the other horse, more so than he did to me. He’s a fighter. He’ll dig in when it’s time to fight.

“You don’t want to choke this horse down. I know that for sure now. He’s a free-running horse. He does not necessarily have to have the lead, but he wants to be allowed to run his race.”

In the immediate aftermath of the Gold Cup, which he won when Aptitude, the second-place finisher and coupled in the betting with Skimming, backed into the victory, Frankel was critical of Gomez’s ride.

After the San Diego, the Hall of Fame trainer indicated Skimming also could have won the $750,000 race on July 1 at Hollywood Park if the horse had been ridden the same way he was Sunday.

“He does his best running on the lead,” Frankel said. “They have to ride aggressively to keep up with him. I thought Futural ran a spectacular race to be second, and I think he’s the horse to beat in the Pacific Classic.

“He [Skimming] does his best running down here and he’s become a real professional horse. [Futural] got to him turning for home and he fought him off the whole stretch.”

Futural, who has crossed the wire first or second in his last seven starts for trainer Craig Dollase, finished five lengths clear of Captain Steve, the 9-5 favorite, then it was 6 1/2 lengths back to Budroyale, who was making his first start in more than 14 1/2 months, followed by Dig For It, Freedom Crest and Spicy Stuff.

“I don’t have any excuses for him today,” said jockey Gary Stevens of Captain Steve, who hasn’t won since taking the $6 million Dubai World Cup on March 24. “He just was not enthusiastic. He didn’t make much of a run at all.”

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Returning to turf was all Reine De Romance needed.

Unable to break her maiden after coming to the U.S. from France in three races on the dirt, the Irish-bred filly won for the third time in her last four races on grass for owners Barry Irwin and Jeff Siegel’s Team Valor and Gary Barber.

Making her graded stakes debut in the $150,000 San Clemente Handicap, Reine De Romance, a 5-1 shot, was given a patient ride by Eddie Delahoussaye and beat 3-1 second choice Gabriellina Giof by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:34 4/5 for the mile.

Trained by Jenine Sahadi, the 3-year-old daughter of Vettori has not been worse than second in six races on grass. She was second in her two races overseas.

“I’m very happy with her progress,” Sahadi said. “She’s been a bit of a project. When we were trying to run her on the dirt, she just got wound up too much. She got a little speed crazy, so we decided to give her some time off with grass racing in mind.”

Gabriellina Giof finished a neck in front of La Vida Loca, the 7-5 favorite who was making her California debut and her first start for owner Robert Sangster and trainer Pat Byrne.

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A division with no clear leader became even more confusing Sunday at Saratoga.

Serra Lake, an 8-1 shot, muddied the picture among the nation’s older fillies and mares with a come-from-behind, 1 3/4-length victory over Pompeii and six others in the $250,000 Go For Wand Handicap.

Owned by breeder Emory Hamilton and trained by Shug McGaughey, who is off to a great start at Saratoga after a terrible meeting at Belmont Park, the 4-year-old daughter of Seattle Slew won for the seventh time in 13 starts. Under Edgar Prado, Serra Lake completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49 3/5.

This was the first Grade I victory for the bay filly, whose only previous stakes victory came in the Pimlico Distaff on May 19.

Beautiful Pleasure, the 13-10 favorite, ran off to a huge lead under Jorge Chavez but had little to offer in the stretch and wound up fourth.

Secret Status, one of the prime contenders, was fractious at the gate and scratched after suffering a cut over her right eye and mouth.