He might not have won the big Grade 1 event that he was hoping for, but Phil D'Amato had plenty to smile about after Saturday's 10-race card at Del Mar.
The star Californian conditioner oversaw two winners which put him top of the trainers' leaderboard – now with 13 to his name after today – in the summer standings at the picturesque San Diego venue.
He was particularly pleased with Classical Cat's victory in race five on the program – for two-year-olds over 5.5 furlongs.
Five-year-old mare Counterparty Risk also saluted in race four over a mile.
But the future for young sprinter Classical Cat is a bright one, winning nicely by 2.5 lengths in his first start.
That future could involve a start in the USD $300,000 Del Mar Futurity over seven furlongs on September 11, with the American Pharoah Stakes on October 8 also a possibility.
“I debuted a nice two-year-old colt Classical Cat – I think he's going to be a nice horse,” D'Amato said.
“Maybe Classical Cat could entertain the Futurity they have here at the end of the meet.
“Or we can wait and run him at something like the FrontRunner (now known as the American Pharoah Stakes).”
To close out D'Amato's afternoon, Leisurewear finished three-quarters of a length behind winner Belle Cherie in the last race of the afternoon for maidens, fillies and mares three years and up over one mile and half a furlong.
“She's a filly who will find her day eventually,” D'Amato said.
“She just needs to get in the clear earlier to have her best chance. But hopefully she'll get a win soon.
“I had a good day.”
And D'Amato could only look on and applaud Spendarella's amazing performance for Graham Motion in the 2022 Del Mar Oaks, his star filly Bellabel finishing 4.5 lengths behind in second spot.
“We're happy. She ran a valiant second to a very nice superstar filly. What can you say? We ran a good race, but we got out-run,” he said.
“She (Spendarella) is just freaky. That final time was smoking for a three-year-old filly.”
D'Amato is expecting plenty more winners for the rest of the Del Mar season, which finishes on September 11.
“Everything's good. Everything's rolling along and we've got a lot more winners in store for the meet,” he said.