Gary and Cecil Barber’s ZAPPA (Afternoon Deelites) sprinted to the fore when the
gates opened, slowed down the pace on an uncontested advantage, and went on to a 6
1/4-length score in Wednesday’s $150,000
Cougar II
H. at Del Mar. By virtue of his facile victory in the 1 1/2-mile event, the
six-year-old gelding guaranteed himself a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon at
Santa Anita on October 25.
Trained by John Sadler and ridden by Garrett Gomez, Zappa led by a length
through opening splits in :25 3/5 and :50 2/5, but he had opened a seven-length
cushion by the time he hit the mile mark in 1:41 3/5. He cruised the rest of the
way, passing the 1 1/4-mile mark in 2:06 2/5 before finishing up 12 furlongs in
2:30 2/5 over the Polytrack. Sent off the second favorite at nearly 4-1 in the
seven-horse field, Zappa returned $9.80, $4.80 and $3 to his supporters.
Tissy Fit (Lasting Approval) easily finished second best at 7-1 odds and was
followed under the wire by 3-5 favorite Big Booster (Accelerator), Marsh Side
(Gone West), Trevor’s Clever (Stephen Got Even), Fado (Brz) (Nedawi) and Harlene
(Decarchy).
The first foal out of the unraced Theatrical (Ire) mare Julie’s Angel, Zappa
raced mostly in claiming races before the advent of synthetic surfaces in
California. He was haltered six times for claiming tags ranging between
$20,000-$40,000, before being taken for $32,000 in April 2007. He made one start
under claiming conditions for Sadler before moving up the class ladder.
Zappa
earned his first stakes victory when taking the San Pasqual H. (G2) in January,
establishing a new track record for 1 1/16 miles over the Cushion Track in 1:39
2/5, and added a second black-type score in the Cougar. Bred in Kentucky by
Madeleine Paulson and Ernest Moody, the bay has now earned $449,032 from a
33-12-2-7 line.