Candy DeBartolo’s Life At Ten will be seeking her sixth straight victory when she meets five rivals in the 73rd renewal of the $750,000 Grade II Delaware Handicap this Saturday.

For the third consecutive time, the mile and a quarter classic for fillies and mares has been designated as a “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup Challenge race with the winner automatically qualifying for the Ladies’ Classic at Churchill Downs on November 5.

The 5-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon became a Grade I winner recently with her 2 ¾-length triumph in the mile and a sixteenth $250,000 Ogden Phipps Handicap at Belmont Park on June 12. Previously, the Kentucky-bred, trained by Todd Pletcher, won the mile and an eighth $200,000 Grade III Sixty Sails Handicap by a length at Hawthorne Park on April 17. This year, she is three-for-three and last year, she won her final two outings of the season. She sports a career record of six wins, five seconds, and a third from 13 starts with earnings of $459,267.

While Life At Ten has shown to have ability throughout her career, that talent did not blossom until recently.

“I think there are a couple reasons for it,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “She is a filly who has always shown a lot of potential in the morning. Some of her races were a little bit frustrating, but I think in retrospect we probably ran a few too many times on synthetic surfaces, which did not bring out her best. Also a couple of times last year, we ran her a little bit short of her best distances. Once she got into a good stready rythm and since we have been able to keep her at a nice series of longer races, she has really developed into what we were hoping she could be.”

While longer races bring out her best, she has never raced at a mile and a quarter, but Pletcher is encouraged that she will handle the classic distance.

“She has handled a mile and an eighth very well being 2-for-2,” he said. “Based upon her physical appearance and the way she travels, we think a mile and a quarter is within in her scope.”

Typically, Pletcher would prep his charges in the Obeah Stakes, which is the local prep for the Del ‘Cap, but this year he decided to take a different route. Pletcher could not pass up the opportunity to run his mare in the Grade I Ogden Phipps.

“We have had a lot of luck over the years running in the Obeah and then back in the Delaware Handicap,” he said. “In this particular case, this mare never really had the opporunity to run in a Grade I and we just felt like the Phipps was the right spot for her at that time. We did strongly consider running in the Obeah as a prep for this race, but the Grade I was just too enticing. We were fortunate enough to win and we were very happy about that. This year, we have had a bit of luck running horses over a track for the first time, and I do not think having a race over the Delaware surface is as important now as it was a few years back.”

A victory by Life At Ten will also give Pletcher his fourth Delaware Handicap victory, which would equal the record set by the late great Henry Clark who won the Delaware Handicap in 1958 and 1959 with Endine and 1969 and 1970 with Obeah. Pletcher has won the filly and mare classic with Unbridled Belle in 2007, Fleet Indian in 2006, and Irving’s Baby in 2001.

“It has always been a very good race for us and we have been forunate enough to have very good luck in the Delaware Handicap,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “We have run nice mares in this race before and we think we are bringing a good one back this time who obviously is in very good form. So we are really looking forward to this race.”

$750,000 Grade II Delaware Handicap

For fillies and mares 3-year-olds and upwards

at a mile and a quarter

PP
HORSE
OWNER
TRAINER
JOCKEY
Wg
OD

1
Funny Moon
Mrs. Wilson McNeely
Christophe Clement
Alan Garcia
121
7/2

2
Miss Singhsix
Team Valor International
Martin Wolfson
Jose Valdivia, Jr.
118
5-1

3
Milwaukee Appeal
C.E.C. Farms
Scott Farlie
Stewart Elliott
119
2-1

4
Million Seller
Masatake Ikia
H. Graham Motion
Jeremy Rose
114
15-1

5
Miss Match
Lael Stables
Michael Matz
Brian J. Hernandez, Jr.
115
12-1

6
Life At Ten
Candy Debartolo
Todd Pletcher
John Velazquez
122
8/5