Hit the Road kicked off a big weekend for More Than Ready with an eye-catching performance in Friday’s Oceanside S. on the opening day card of the Del Mar summer meet.
The 3-year-old colt, who had tracked along the inside in fifth most of the trip, split horses in midstretch with a bold move, then kicked clear with powerful strides to win by nearly two lengths in 1:35.09 for the one mile on the firm turf.
“Umberto (Rispoli) ran a faultless race and the horse is super talented,” said trainer Dan Blacker. “You can put him on the lead or take him back and Umberto put him in a perfect spot.”
The Kentucky-bred is owned by Daniel Koetteing’s D K Racing, Kyle Yost’s Taste of Victory Stables and Rick Gold. A winner of the Zuma Beach S. last October, Hit the Road is 4-0-0 in seven starts and has earned $194,751.
Bred by Fred Hertrich III and out of Highway Mary, Hit the Road is a maternal grandson of graded winner Wandering Star, the dam of graded stakes winners War Command and Naval Officer.
Leading international sire More Than Ready is the sire of five stakes winners this year, while his lifetime total has now surpassed the 200 mark.
