Moonlit Courage failed to make an impact this afternoon at Del Mar and finished ninth. She was NOT claimed.

Hard ridden into a stalking spot early, she began to drop back heading for home and could not quicken from there.

Jockey Kazushi Kimura noted that she broke well, but did not possess the necessary gears after that. He said she probably does not have the turn of foot to be competitive on the grass, but would probably need additional class relief back on the dirt as well.

Those observations seem reasonable and make sense to us as. We’ll see how she comes back and confer with trainer Richard Mandella to determine what makes sense next.

Moonlit Courage breezed five furlongs from the gate this morning at Santa Anita Park and was credited with a final time of 1:01.60. Trainer Richard Mandella reported she got tired in the later stages, but that was not completely unexpected given this was the most demanding work she has had to date. Mandella also noted the Santa Anita main track has been on the deeper side over the last two days.