Third start is the charm for filly Medaglia Gold

Medaglia Gold, a 2-year-old filly based at the San Luis Rey Training Center in Bonsall, made her third career start a winning one when she posted a front-running victory in a tough maiden-allowance race at Del Mar July 29.

The one-mile turf contest was the fifth race on the card and featured a purse of $61,725. Medaglia Gold dominated her nine rivals from start to finish to earn the first place check of $36,000 for prominent owners/breeders Larry and Marianne Williams.

Clifford Sise, Jr. trains Medaglia Gold, a daughter of the sire of Medaglia d'Oro, who commands a stud fee of $150,000. Medaglia Gold made her first two starts at Santa Anita and beat just one horse in her debut May 12 and only three rivals in her second outing June 23.

Medaglia Gold, perhaps finding the seaside air more to her liking, put everything together at Del Mar. Racing with blinkers for the first time and breaking from the outside post, Medaglia Gold sped to the lead soon after the start and never looked back.

Jockey Edwin Maldonado rode Medaglia Gold, who led by multiple lengths for the majority of the eight-furlong journey. Medaglia Gold opened up a five-length lead in midstretch and then cruised home to comfortably defeat 4-5 favorite Tequila Sunrise by 3 1/4 lengths.

Medaglia Gold, who had three solid workouts between her second and third races, was dismissed at 9-1 in the wagering and paid $21.00 to win after upsetting Tequila Sunrise. Medaglia Gold was timed in 1:37.21.

Medaglia Gold was one of four Bonsall-based horses to win at Del Mar during the second week of the track's seven-week summer meeting. The others were Aura Rose (Race 8, July 26), Lea's Reward (Race 2, July 27), and Westwood's Wizard (Race 10, July 29).

Aura Rose and Lea's Reward are both trained by Richard Baltas. Aura Rose, a 3-year-old filly, charged from midpack to win a $35,000 starter allowance race. Ridden by Tyler Baze in the one-mile turf contest, Aura Rose returned $11.00 after defeating Tammy's Window by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:37.01. It was the second win in 11 outings for Aura Rose, who was coming off a pair of runner-up tries at Santa Anita.

Lea's Reward, ridden by the hot apprentice Evin Roman, sprinted away from her opponents in the stretch to win a $20,000 maiden-claiming race by 6 1/2 lengths. A 4-year-old filly, Lea's Reward had three thirds in four starts before breaking through in the one-mile race for maiden fillies and mares. Lea's Reward stopped the timer in 1:40.13 and paid $6.00 as the 2-1 favorite.

Westwood's Wizard, a 4-year-old colt trained by Scott Hansen, rallied from ninth in a field of 11 to win a $35,000 starter allowance race on the turf by a half-length over Popyhowusplcupck. Ridden by Sal Gonzalez, Westwood's Wizard returned $12.80 after running a mile in 1:36.09. It was the second straight score for Westwood's Wizard, who broke his maiden at Santa Anita June 2. Jockey Sal Gonzalez was aboard for both wins.

The summer season at Del Mar runs through Sept. 4 and racing is conducted on a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule.