Camden Training Center graduate and German-bred mare Dalika battled with pacesetter en route to grade 3 victory at Delaware.
Bal Mar Equine’s Dalika cruised to her first graded stakes victory in the $150,500 Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes (G3T) July 10 at Delaware Park.
With Miguel Mena aboard, the 5-year-old daughter of Pastorius posted a length triumph and returned $10.60 on a $2 win ticket as the fourth choice in the field of nine. She raced near the lead with pacesetter Candy Flower through early fractions of :24.53, :48.61, and 1:13.18 through the first six furlongs of the 1 3/8-mile turf even for fillies and mares. Candy Flower then relinquished her lead and Dalika took over to post a mile in 1:38.21. The winner continued on to cover the race distance over a soft turf course in 2:16.35.
“She is a very nice mare and I would like to thank her connections for the opportunity to ride her,” said Mena. “She broke real good, but she has a little bit of a strong head, so we kind of let her just do her thing. She likes to run free and I have learned not to fight her too much. It was a nice smooth trip and I waited to ask her as long as I could. At the quarter-pole she had enough; I asked her and she opened up. She was much the best.”
The 7-2 favorite Luck Money came from mid-pack to finish second. It was another three quarters of a length farther back to Temple City Terror in third. La Dragontea , Blame Debbie , Hotsy Totsy , Micheline , Tonal Verse , and Candy Flower completed the order of finish.
Dalika, conditioned by Albert Stall Jr, raised her career record to seven wins and five seconds from 22 starts with earnings of $508,463.
Bred in Germany by Gestut Ammerland, Dalika is out of the Hurricane Run mare Drawn To Run and from the family of Prix Ganay-Grand Prix Air Mauritius (G1) winner Corre Caminos. Her 3-year-old full sister, Drawn to Race, is a winner and Drawn To Run has also produced a 2-year-old Maxios filly, a yearling Iquitos filly, and foaled a colt by Waldgeist April 12.
Dalika made three starts between Germany and France as a 2-year-old for her breeder, winning in her home country, before she was moved to the United States to race for her current connections. She has won a total of four black-type events, including another one this year when she took the Feb. 13 Albert M. Stall Memorial Stakes, named in honor of her trainer’s father, at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Temple City Terror was second in the Stall Memorial.
Dalika is a graduate of the Camden Training Center, and you can read the entire article about his victory here.
