That’s No Mott-ly Crew He Sent Over to Del Mar

DEL MAR — With a small army, trainer Bill Mott has done some early damage in his invasion of this track.

From his New York base, Mott sent six horses west with assistant Simon Bray, all owned by Allen Paulson, who lives in nearby Rancho Santa Fe.

So far, two of the five that have run have won, another (Clure) should have and only one has finished off the board. The sixth, Dowty, is expected to start in the Escondido Handicap on Friday.

More importantly, both victories have come in stakes. About 24 hours after Yokama won the $76,375 Honey Fox Handicap, Escena scored a 6-1 surprise in the $300,000 Ramona Handicap, beating Real Connection by three-quarters of a length in 1:49 4/5 for the 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Ridden by Pat Day, the 4-year-old Strawberry Road filly tracked the extremely slow pace set by the overmatched Wheatly Special, then kicked away when asked and won for the sixth time in 17 starts.

However, she is now perfect in two tries on the grass, and perhaps, that is the surface that she will remain now. She would seem a possibility for the prestigious Beverly D later this month at Arlington.

“I’d have to let Mr. Paulson and [Mott] decide on that,” Bray said. “But, I would think that [could happen].

“I love Del Mar. I’m just delighted, absolutely delighted. On paper, there wasn’t much speed in the race. She worked over the grass [on Thursday] in much the same fashion--relaxed early and then finished up strong.”

For the fourth time in her last five starts, Real Connection finished second, but it wasn’t in heartbreaking fashion Saturday as it had been in three of her four previous starts. She did defeat Different, the 7-5 favorite, by 1 1/4 lengths and it was another half-length back to 2-1 second choice Donna Viola.

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Fresh off a victory in the Sunset Handicap two weeks ago at Hollywood Park, Marlin is the 9-5 favorite against six opponents in the $300,000 Eddie Read Handicap today.

Third or better in 14 of 17 starts on the turf, including seven victories, the 4-year-old Sword Dance colt will be shortening from 1 1/2 miles to the Read distance of 1 1/8 miles, but the last time he ran nine furlongs, he won the Hollywood Derby last Dec. 1.

A Grade I race, the Read also attracted Labeeb, Naninja, El Angelo, Expelled, Perim and Smooth Runner, who was second to Fastness in this race a year ago.

Labeeb has won four of six in this country and El Angelo won the Inglewood and American handicaps at Hollywood Park.

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In what was virtually a match race throughout, Will’s Way defeated Formal Gold by a nose in the $350,000 Whitney Handicap Saturday at Saratoga.

Winning for the second time in three tries at Saratoga, the 2-1 second choice completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48 1/5 under Jerry Bailey, who won four other races on the card, while defeating Formal Gold, the 5-2 third choice with Kent Desormeaux aboard.

A distant third, 6 1/2 lengths behind Formal Gold, was Skip Away, the 125-pound highweight and 11-10 favorite. Looking for his third consecutive victory after beginning 1997 with four losses, Skip Away simply couldn’t stay with the first two.

Horse Racing Notes

Jockey David Flores, who was injured in a Friday spill, was moved out of the intensive care unit at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla Saturday and is expected to be released sometime today. The rider suffered a separated right shoulder and cracked vertebrae Friday when Finder’s Fortune, the gelding he was riding in the fifth race, clipped heels and fell in the stretch. Jockey Ryan Barber, who rode Lissitki--the horse whose heels Finder’s Fortune clipped--was given a seven-day suspension by the stewards for “failure to maintain a straight course through the stretch causing interference.”