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.
