Maestro Dearte stretching back out

ARCADIA, Calif. – Maestro Dearte emerged from his career debut last April with a sore eye and an injured ankle. He did not race again in 2017. Since his return in January, Maestro Dearte is unbeaten in two starts at a mile on turf.

Sunday, Maestro Dearte will start in his longest race of the year, a 1 1/8-mile turf allowance with a $62,500 claiming option.

“We always thought he had some talent,” trainer Peter Eurton said on Friday morning. “He hasn’t let us down at all.”

The optional claimer is the leading race on Sunday. The $100,000 Tiznow Stakes for California-bred milers failed to draw sufficient entries. The optional claimer is the sixth race on a nine-race program and drew a field of eight.

KEY CONTENDERS

Maestro Dearte, by Sidney’s Candy Last 3 Beyers: 87-84-73

◗ Maestro Dearte was third in a 1 1/8-mile maiden race last April, finishing behind Lifeline, a key runner in Sunday’s optional claimer. Maestro Dearte was apparently struck in the eye by a dirt clod in the race, leaving Eurton concerned. At the same time, Maestro Dearte was found to have swelling in an ankle.

“He got hit in an eye and we thought he might lose the eye,” Eurton said. “We didn’t think anything of a little filling. It didn’t go away.”

The eye eventually was fine, but Maestro Dearte underwent surgery to have a bone chip removed from an ankle.

◗ Owned by a partnership that includes Sharon Alesia and Ciaglia Racing, Maestro Dearte has won both of his starts this year by a half-length – a maiden race on Jan. 13 and a first-condition optional claimer on Feb. 10.

◗ The added distance of Sunday’s race should be a bonus.

“We’ll see what he can do,” Eurton said. “I’d like to run him a mile and a quarter.”

Lifeline, by Tapit Last 3 Beyers: 83-67-77

◗ Lifeline returned from an absence of nearly nine months to win a first-condition allowance race at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Jan. 21 as the 2-1 favorite. Lifeline, who is out of Life Is Sweet, the winner of the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, is a horse that thrives on turf, but struggles while training on dirt, trainer Richard Mandella said.

“He’s a horse that has never trained on dirt as well as he has run on the grass,” Mandella said. “His workouts don’t tell you much.”

◗ Lifeline and Maestro Dearte have similar styles, racing from off the pace.

Ronald R, by Nathaniel Last 3 Beyers: 85-82-N/A

◗ Ronald R has been sixth and fifth in his first two starts in the United States at shorter distances. He was second in the 29-runner Britannia Stakes for 3-year-olds at Royal Ascot last June when trained by Michael Bell. Simon Callaghan trains Ronald R, who finished with interest to lose by 2 1/4 lengths in a race at a mile on Feb. 15.