Last-gasp victories were the order of the day at Del Mar on Sunday, with Surge Capacity rallying gamely to win by a head and lead home a Chad Brown superfecta in the headline G1 Matriarch Stakes, and then when Stay Hot made his stakes breakthrough with a late dash to take the G3 Cecil B. DeMille by a neck.
Matriarch Stakes
G1 – purse $300,000 – 1m – turf – 3yo+ females
Surge leads Brown superfecta
It was as easy as 1-2-3-4 for Chad Brown at Del Mar on Sunday, when he nailed the superfecta in the feature Matriarch with Surge Capacity leading the way from barnmates Fluffy Socks, Beaute Cachee and the favoured Whitebeam.
Surge Capacity was the most inexperienced member of the field but graduated to the top level with a buzzer-beating score as 4-1 second-choice. The race changed dramatically from mid-stretch, but Brown always had it all wrapped up.
Whitebeam kicked for home off the turn and held a distinct advantage, but she was swamped by Fluffy Socks coming fast down the outside. That horse seemed the likely winner but Surge Capacity rallied strongly on the rail and got up to take it by a head. A length and a half further back, Beaute Cachee came along late to get the show by a head from the fading Whitebeam.
2023 Matriarch Stakes Race Video
@horseracingtote Surge Capacity wins the Matriarch Stakes #Horseracing #Horseracingtips #Horsesoftiktok #Horsetok #Sports #FYP
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“I had to stay inside, I had no choice,” said jockey Joel Rosario. “But she likes to run, she’s a fighter.”
As well as this race being a personal triumph for Brown, it was also the trainer’s fourth successive victory in the Matriarch, and his sixth in the last seven years. Surge Capacity is now four-for-five in a career that only started in June; she could be a major force on the lawn in 2024.
2023 Matriarch Stakes Race Payouts
| Horse | Win | Place | Show |
| 1. Surge Capacity | 11.40 | 6.00 | 4.60 |
| 2. Fluffy Socks | 6.00 | 4.00 | |
| 3. Beaute Cachee | 10.00 |
Winning time: 1m 33.95s
Cecil B. DeMille Stakes
G3 – purse $100,000 – 1m – turf – 2yo
Hot stuff
With a swooping surge from back to front in the last quarter-mile, Stay Hot made his stakes breakthrough in the Cecil B. DeMille with a last-gasp score to deny longshot Rothschild and Miracle Mark.
A Breeders’ Cup flop on his previous start, the Peter Eurton-trained Stay Hot erased that memory as 2-1 joint-favourite, and was kept well away from the fractions laid down by 50-1 poke Charge For Gold.
2023 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes Race Video
@horseracingtote Stay Hot wins the Cecil B. Demille #Horseracing #Horseracingtips #Horsesoftiktok #Horsetok #Sports #FYP
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He moved around the turn, coming eight wide into the lane, and still had plenty to do but did it in style, producing an irresistible late charge to run down first Miracle Mark and then the rallying turf debutant Rothschild to get the money by a neck and a head. The other joint-favourite Lord Bullingdon was nearest at the line in fourth.
“He’s a good horse in the making,” said jockey Antonio Fresu. “I was disappointed at the Breeders’ Cup but he is developing all the time.”
2023 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes Race Payouts
| Horse | Win | Place | Show |
| 1. Stay Hot | 6.60 | 4.60 | 3.20 |
| 2. Rothschild | 16.40 | 11.20 | |
| 3. Miracle Mark | 4.60 |
Winning time: 1m 35.89s
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