Claimer of the Week from Del Mar

Olympic Blue broke from an outside post, contested the lead after the opening quarter mile, took command at the top of the stretch and hung on to win the first race on opening day of the Del Mar meet. It was the ninth career victory for Olympic Blue, who has been named the agameofskill.com Claimer of the Week.

The 5 year old defeated fellow $12,500 claimers on the fast main track going a mile, and stopped the timer in 1:37.11. The gelding’s backers were well rewarded with a win ticket that returned $19.60. The son of Olympio, who has now won on dirt, grass, and artificial surfaces, was masterfully ridden by Rafael Bejarano. He was claimed from his last race at Golden Gate by trainer Andy Mathis. The California bred has finished in the money (top three finishers) 17 times from 30 career starts. Owned by the Bran Jam Stable, Olympic Blue has now accumulated nearly $218,000 in lifetime earnings.