Idiomatic, Morning Matcha Lead Six in Delaware ‘Cap

Juddmonte Farms’ homebred Idiomatic  tops a field of six in the 86th running of the July 8 $500,000 Delaware Handicap (G2) at Delaware Park. This will be the first year the filly and mare classic will be contested at 1 3/16 miles after being run at 1 1/4 miles every year since 1951 (except 2020 when race was run at 1 1/8 miles due to the pandemic). The Delaware Handicap has been carded as the ninth race with an approximate post time of 4:46 p.m. ET.

In her most recent start, Idiomatic notched a 2 1/2-length victory June 3 in the 1 1/16-mile Shawnee Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs. Previously, the 4-year-old daughter of Curlin   ran second May 6 in the one-mile Ruffian Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park. The Kentucky-bred conditioned by Brad Cox has a career record of five wins, a second, and two thirds from eight starts with earnings of $474,490.

LC Racing, Cash is King, and Gary Barber’s Morning Matcha  could give Robert “Butch” Reid Jr. a rare training double by winning the Delaware Oaks and the Delaware Handicap in the same year. Todd Pletcher and Jerry Hollendorfer are the only trainers to win both races in the same year. Pletcher won both with Adieu  (Oaks) and Fleet Indian  (Handicap) in 2006 and Hollendorfer won both with It Tiz Well  (Oaks) and Songbird  (Handicap) in 2017. Reid won his second Delaware Oaks last Saturday, with Foggy Night . Reid, 66 and from Woodbury, N.J., won his first Delaware Oaks with Project Whiskey  in 2020. He has never had a starter in the Delaware Handicap.

“For me personally, it is fantastic to have this opportunity especially because Delaware Park is a racetrack I grew up within a half-hour of, so we were always watching those big races,” said Reid. “As a kid, we were always coming to Delaware Park and those were races we always looked forward to coming to watch, so this is really exciting. We have been fortunate to be very lucky at Delaware over the last few years.”

In her most recent, Morning Matcha finished second beaten a nose May 27 in the local prep, the 1 1/6-mile $160,000 Obeah Stakes. In her only other outing this year, the Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Central Banker   posted a two-length triumph April 24 in the seven-furlong state-bred $103,000 Unique Bella Stakes at Parx Racing. Last year, the 4-year-old had a record of two wins, two seconds, and three thirds from 10 starts including a third in the Delaware Oaks, a second in the Cotillion Stakes (G1) at Parx, and a third in the Comley Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack. She has a career record of five wins, six seconds, and five thirds from 19 starts with earnings of $743,390. She was bred by Crane Thoroughbred Services, which is located approximately 74 miles from Delaware Park in Lebanon County, Pa.

“I am pretty excited about Morning Matcha, especially after looking at the past performances of the race,” Reid said. “It looks like there is a fair amount of speed in the race, so it should set up really nice for her. The reason we ran her in the Obeah was to give her a race over the track this season. As a trainer who has been running horses at Delaware Park for a long time, I really appreciate giving a horse a race over the track. Hopefully that will work to our advantage. It seems like she handled it last time, but she just had a little bad luck. A little bit longer distance should help her as well because she is the kind that can run all day. The distance should be right up her alley.”

Her jockey Paco Lopez will also be shooting for the Delaware Oaks/Delaware Handicap double as he was the rider aboard Foggy Night in the Delaware Oaks last Saturday. The last time a jockey won both races in the same year was 1977 when Jorge Velasquez accomplished the feat aboard Cum Laude Laurie (Oaks) and Our Mims (Handicap). Three other jockeys have also done so. They were Eddie Maple with Pacific Princess (Oaks) and Optimistic Gal (Handicap) in 1976, John Rotz with Gallant Bloom (Oaks) and Obeah (Handicap) in 1969 and Bill Hartack with Bayou (Oaks) and Princess Turia (Handicap) in 1957.

Since the Obeah Stakes was inaugurated in 1996, four fillies or mares have won the race and followed with a victory in the Delaware Handicap. They were the 2006 older female champion Fleet Indian , I’m a Chatterbox  in 2016, Miss Marissa  in 2021, and Miss Leslie  last year. Two fillies have finished second in the Obeah and won the Delaware Handicap. They were Power Play  in 1997 and Unbridled Belle  in 2007. Three winners of the Obeah Stakes have followed by running second in the Delaware Handicap. They were Under the Rug  in 2001, Your Out  in 2002 and the 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace .

This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.