OBVIOUSLY WINS THE DEL MAR MILE HANDICAP!

Obviously turned in one of the most impressive performances in Del Mar history this afternoon when he won the $200,000 Del Mar Mile Handicap (gr. II) in track record time after setting an absolutely blazing pace.

Ridden to victory by Joe Talamo, Obviously got off to a good start in the one-mile turf event and quickly opened up a sizable advantage while running the opening quarter mile in :22.64 seconds. Tale of a Champion was racing in second, followed closely by Calimonco and Norvsky. Jeranimo and Mr. Commons were the early trailers.

Obviously continued to flash his tremendous speed through a half-mile in :45.45 seconds, which gave him a five-length advantage over the field going down the backstretch. At that stage, he had every opportunity to let up and take a breather, but the gelding barreled around the far turn without any intentions of resting and rattled off three-quarters in a practically unheard of 1:08.85 seconds. And he didn't stop there. From the quarter pole to the eighth pole, he ran his seventh furlong in :11.50 seconds. And then, with Mr. Commons surging on the outside, Obviously stayed on for a final eighth in :11.75 seconds to win the race by a nose in 1:32.10, eclipsing the previous track record of 1:32.21 set by Three Valleys in 2005.

Jeranimo rallied mildly to finish third, while Norvsky, Calimonco, and Tale of a Champion completed the order of finish. The winner is a son of the Australian-bred stallion Choisir and is out of the Montjeu mare Leala. He is trained by Mike Mitchell and owned by Anthony Fanticola and Joseph Scardino.

-Keelerman