No California-based trainer has ever completed the famed North-South ‘DOUBLE,’ winning both the Pacific Classic at Del Mar and the C.J. Hindley-Humboldt County Marathon Handicap in the same year. In fact, no trainer has even attempted the thoroughbred feat.
Until this Sunday when two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug O’Neill, who pulled off a $46.40 shocker with Mixto in last week’s Pacific Classic, ships another member of his talented stable — Mucino — to Ferndale’s famed half-mile track in search of capturing the 70th edition of the richest-ever $50,000 Humboldt Marathon at 1-5/8 miles, as the Humboldt Fair pulls the curtain closed on its 128th race meet.
Racing is scheduled both Saturday and Sunday with the first race set for 2:15 p.m. each day.
O’Neill has certainly etched Hall of Fame credentials in a training career that includes 2012 and 2016 Kentucky Derby victories with I’ll Have Another and Nyquist, respectively. He has saddled 2,861 winners, had his horses earned in excess of $160 million and trained five Eclipse Award winners (I’ll Have Another, Nyquist, Maryfield, Stevie Wonderboy and Thor’s Echo). But the impressive resume is missing a Humboldt Marathon victory.
And the 55-year-old O’Neill will seek to “X” that off his bucket list with Mucino, a long-winded, 4-year-old son of Nyquist, who only has a maiden score last year at Santa Anita on his 16-race career. Ironically, Mixto had only beaten maidens before his Pacific Classic upset. And O’Neill is not vanning Mucino north just to sightsee the Redwoods.
“He (Mucino) has a high cruising speed and tons of stamina, so the distance of 1-5/8 miles should be right in his wheelhouse,” claims O’Neill. “Of course, you have to see how the race unfolds and pace can definitely make the race, along with the fact I always have a lot of respect for the other horses. But I think he should be very ‘live’ as a son of Nyquist and knowing that he will like the distance.
“I have been a big fan of Northern California racing and racing secretary Tom Doutrich, and have enjoyed sending horses north to race, and in this case, the owners (Mercado Racing LLC) are from Northern California so everything clicked the boxes and we decided to ship Mucino north for the Humboldt Marathon.”
Mucino comes off a second-place finish in the $50,000 starter allowance miler in late July at Del Mar where he pressed the pace into the stretch and held gamely for the runner-up placing. His past performance lines show some early speed, so he figures to be forwardly placed early in Sunday’s Humboldt Marathon.
But he is hardly any cinch and will face a solid group of competitors in arguably the finest cast in Marathon history.
Lord Wimborne, Mount Pelliar and Honos Man, heroes of the 2023, 2022 and 2021 Marathons, respectively, will also go postward in what will be a full starting gate of eight long-distance specialists. Lord Wimborne rallied from just off the pace to overhaul odds-on favorite Growth Engine in capturing last year’s Marathon under jockey Francisco Monroy. Monroy will have the call aboard again. Mount Pelliar nailed Honos Man in the stretch to take the 2022 running for trainer Gary Greiner. Honos Man won with Leonel Camacho-Flores in the saddle for owner Leon Scott, and the same connections are back this year.
Other probable starters include Enos Slaughter, who boasts an allowance route victory at Pleasanton earlier this summer, and is fresh from a solid second-place finish in a Santa Rosa turf miler for trainer Marcelino Trujillo, Druidic, who certainly served notice with a wire-to-wire victory in a seven-furlong prep last week locally for trainer D Wayne Baker, and Big Flame, who hails from the stable of leading trainer Francisco Rodriguez.
Entries will be taken today for the Marathon and the remainder of the closing day program. The Marathon will go in its tradition spot — the last race.
There were 16 nominations for the Marathon, and the highest eight weighted horses will have slots in Sunday’s starting gate.
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