Metaboss Trying New Game in WAYI Del Mar H.

Metaboss winning the El Camino Real Derby | Vassar photography

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Metaboss (Street Boss), winner of the 2015 El Camino Real Derby over the Golden Gate Tapeta Track, will look to see out 11 furlongs for the first time in his career in Saturday's GII Del Mar H., a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita.

A maiden winner over the Santa Anita turf in January 2015, Metaboss was a much-the-best winner of the El Camino Real, then went missing off a sixth in last year's GIII Spiral S. Turned over to trainer Michael Dickinson this season, the chestnut managed a third from three grass tries in Maryland and was returned to Southern California and the barn of Phil D'Amato. In his first appearance for the new outfit going a mile over this course July 23, Metaboss rallied five deep into the lane and powered home to take a second-level allowance by 1 1/2 lengths.

“We're taking a shot,” D'Amato said. “Usually, turf courses like this lend themselves to horses with his kind of style. He's the one-run type that can kind of cruise along and then kick it in the last quarter. Horses with that style can usually go farther in distance. Before I even asked him [jockey] Rafael Bejarano said, 'This horse will run all day.' So we put our heads together and came up with the Del Mar H.”

Flamboyant (Fr) (Peer Gynt {Jpn}) belied odds of 46-1 to land this year's GII San Gabriel S. Jan. 2 and proved that effort was no fluke with a 3/4-length tally in the GII San Marcos S. Feb. 6. An excellent fifth, beaten under three lengths by Real Steep (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Dubai Turf S. Mar. 26, the gelding ran on well to fill third spot in the GII Eddie Read S. July 17, beaten 3/4 of a length.

Runner-up in this event last year as the 9-5 favorite, Ashleyluvssugar (Game Plan) returned from a 9 1/2-month hiatus to finish third by a length in the state-bred Crystal Water S. at Santa Anita June 11 and crossed the line a neck better than Flamboyant in the Eddie Read. The Cal-bred should enjoy the extra two furlongs of this affair.

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