Longshot gives Wohlers first win at Del Mar

San Luis Rey Downs Thoroughbred Training Center trainer Laura Wohlers obtained her first-ever Del Mar Thoroughbred Club win August 26 with the race’s longshot.

Potential won the day’s fifth race at odds of 35.1:1. Potential beat Quebec Citizen by a neck in the one-mile turf race for three-year-olds.

“It’s nice to win at Del Mar. It’s a tough meet,” Wohlers said.

Although Wohlers, who trains for owner James McIngvale, had not previously won at Del Mar as a trainer of record, she had previously sent some of McIngvale’s horses to Bob Baffert to run at Del Mar. “We don’t feel like it’s our first win at Del Mar,” Wohlers said.

Wohlers had trained in Kentucky, Texas, and Delaware before moving to California. She moved McIngvale’s horses from Texas to San Luis Rey Downs in March and arrived at the Bonsall facility in April. McIngvale continues to live in Texas.

“We love San Luis Rey,” she said.

Wohlers had won at Hollywood Park prior to the start of this year’s Del Mar meet. Potential, who was foaled in Kentucky and purchased by McIngvale as a yearling, had won one of his previous four career races.

The August 26 race for Potential, however, was his first ever on turf, his first at that distance, and his first as a gelding. “Got a lot of firsts there,” Wohlers said. “I’m sure you had just a bunch of question marks.”

While the bettors turned Potential into a longshot, jockey Martin Pedroza was more confident. “Martin just loves the horse even though he stumbled at the break,” Wohlers said.

That stumble had taken place in a previous allowance race, but Pedroza didn’t lose faith in Potential. “I’m very fortunate, I think, that Martin really likes the horse and believed in him,” Wohlers said.

Wohlers had similar faith in Pedroza in terms of riding the horse. “I really didn’t give him any instructions,” Wohlers said.

Potential broke seventh among the ten horses and was seventh at the quarter-mile pole. “I thought for a second there he held him a little too far back, but it seemed to work out just fine,” Wohlers said.

Leader Queen’s Image had covered the first quarter-mile in 21.96 seconds. Potential was five lengths behind Queen’s Image at that point. At half a mile, a point where Queen’s Image led 45.92 seconds into the race, Potential was still seventh but only 3 1/2 lengths behind the leader.

“He broke fine and he had that outside post and Martin kind of set him up there within reaching range,” Wohlers said.

At three-quarters of a mile Queen’s Image was still in the lead, having covered that distance in 1:09.59. Potential was 4 1/2 lengths behind Queen’s Image at that point, but when Queen’s Image took the lead into the stretch 12 seconds later Pedroza had moved Potential up to fourth, only two lengths behind.

“Once he started making his move, I knew that he had a real good shot to win,” Wohlers said. “This horse has a ton of talent.”

Queen’s Image fell to third in the stretch, and Potential overtook Quebec Citizen to win the race with a time of 1:33.46. “He did a great job with him,” Wohlers said of Pedroza. “And he really loves the horse.”

The win vindicates Wohlers’ believe that Potential is suited for longer-distance races. “Choosing that race for him was basically more for the distance than for the turf,” she said. “I always thought he was a horse that truly needed to go a little bit longer.”

The win on the turf gives Potential wins on both dirt and turf and gives Wohlers options for future races. “We now think he can run on both,” she said.

Wohlers will look for an appropriate race during the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita Park and enter Potential there if the timing is right. She indicated the possibility of a future stakes race for Potential after an additional turf race.

Since Potential has now been gelded, he will race as an older horse rather than stand as a stallion. “Hope he just holds up and can run a bunch for us,” Wohlers said.