NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND

Global Magician, the 3-2 favorite ridden by Triple Crown-winning jockey Victor Espinoza, overhauled pacesetting Signature Cat in the stretch and went on to win Del Mar’s feature race Thursday, a five-furlong sprint on the grass.

Global Magician, owned by Barber and Wachtel Stable and trained by Peter Miller, scored by one and one-quarter lengths over Signature Cat in 57.18 for the abbreviated distance. Gutsy Ruler was third, one and one-quarter lengths behind the runner-up and the same margin in front of fourth-place Burnaroundtheedges in the field of nine sprinters.

Del Mar’s final week of its fall racing season – starting on Thanksgiving Day and running through Sunday, November 29 – will offer topnotch racing spiced by an impressive number of high-line stakes horses shipping in from around the country in quest of nearly $1.5-million in purses.

Seven major stakes, including a pair of Grade I turf tests, will make the holiday week especially noteworthy for Southern California racing fans. First post on Thanksgiving Day has been set at 11 a.m., while the remaining three cards on the weekend go off at 12:30 p.m.


Eleven evenly-matched older fillies and mares will match strides and stamina Saturday in the 50th running of the Grade III $100,000 Red Carpet Handicap at the marathon distance of a mile and three-eighths over Del Mar’s infield Jimmy Durante grass course.

Packing highweight of 122 pounds will be Irish-bred Elektrum, winner of the Grade II John C. Mabee last summer but a disappointment when finishing fourth at even-money behind Uzziel in the Goldikova Stakes three weeks ago. Triple Crown-winner Victor Espinoza again has the call from trainer John Sadler.