Grand Slam Smile © Benoit Photo
Eleven fillies and mares will match strides Sunday at Del Mar in the day’s feature attraction, the 32nd edition of the Solana Beach Stakes, a $150,000 offering that is presented on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course going a mile.
The race is limited to Cal-bred runners and is one of eight such events held at the seaside oval this summer. It is part of the Golden State Series, a collection of 31 stakes races run at tracks in California that carries total purse monies of $3.825 million.
Likely favorite for the grass test is Mr.-Mrs. Larry D. Williams’ homebred Grand Slam Smile, a 4-year-old filly by Smiling Tiger who has been a paragon of consistence in her 13-start racing career. The chestnut has won seven of those races and finished second in five others. She’s banked $590,620 so far and will be aiming for the lion’s share of the Solana Beach prize.
The Williams call Idaho home, but have raced extensively in California for many years now. They’ve won the Solana Beach twice before with their runner Pulpit Rider in 2020 and 2021. Sean McCarthy trains Grand Slam Smile and she’ll be ridden by her regular rider of late in William Antongeorgi III.
Also of note in the Sunday stakes is Rainmaker Racing or Lewis’ Moment’s Pleasure, the Clubhouse Ride filly who won this race last year. The now 4-year-old chestnut has four victories and four seconds on her ledger and earnings of $315,978. She’s trained by veteran Craigh Lewis and will have the saddle services of the meet’s leading rider in Juan Hernandez.
Here’s the full field for the turfer listed from the rail out with riders and morning line odds: Ciaglia Racing or Christensen’s Miso Phansy (Hector I. Berrios, 15-1); Richard Barton’s Hot Girl Walk (Dryden Van Dyke, 20-1); Moment’s Pleasure (7/2); Ernst or Ernst’s California Rocks (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 30-1); J. Kirk and Judy Robison’s Only One America (Geovanni Franco, 20-1); Ciaglia Racing, SAF Racing, et al’s Prancingthruparis (Armando Ayuso, 4-1); Grand Slam Smile (5/2); R L Stables’ Sneaker (Kazushi Kimura, 5-1); Flurry Racing Stables, Smith, et al’s Dorie Miller (Diego Herrera, 15-1); Harris Farms’ Wink and a Grin (Umberto Rispoli, 12-1), and Greenway Racing Stables, Branch, et al’s Cornelia Fort (Antonio Fresu, 10-1).
First post for the Sunday nine-race card is 2 p.m. The Solana Beach goes at Race 7 and will begin at 5 p.m.