Even without his top turf sprinter Motorious in the Stormy Liberal Stakes on Sunday at Del Mar, trainer Phil D’Amato might have a stranglehold on the five-furlong turf race. D’Amato entered three in the Stormy Liberal, including veteran geldings who won the first two editions of the $100,000 stakes – 2022 winner Turn On The Jets and 2023 winner Unconquerable Keen. Neither is a cinch against upstart 3-year-old Sorrento Sky. “He’s a horse on the improve and has his confidence right now. He’s going in the right direction,” D’Amato said. Sorrento Sky is stepping up after back-to-back allowance wins at Del Mar and Santa Anita. Though less accomplished than his stablemates, Sorrento Sky just might upset the Stormy Liberal, named for the 2017-18 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner who won three turf sprint stakes at Del Mar. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. The D’Amato trio faces an eclectic field in the Stormy Liberal, race 3 on closing day of the autumn meet. Stakes-winning 3-year-old colt Slider faces older for the first time; stakes-placed 5-year-old mare Just Nails faces males for the first time; Boss Sully and Sassy Nature add speed. Missing from the Stormy Liberal is Motorious, the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint runner-up who D’Amato said will target the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes on Dec. 28 at Santa Anita. D’Amato might not need Motorious on Sunday because all three of his entrants are qualified to win. After misfiring in previous starts, Turn On The Jets and Unconquerable Keen returned to form at Santa Anita by finishing second and third in a turf allowance Oct. 27. They return Sunday to a Del Mar course on which they won a combined 5 of 12, including both editions of the Stormy Liberal. “They’re both doing really good,” D’Amato said. Juan Hernandez rides Turn On The Jets, Umberto Rispoli rides Unconquerable Keen, and Kazushi Kimura rides Sorrento Sky. The question facing Sorrento Sky on Sunday is whether he is good enough. He probably is. Sorrento Sky’s form is similar to Turn On The Jets before his 2022 Stormy Liberal win. Sorrento Sky won a second-level allowance last out, Turn On The Jets had finished third in a second-level allowance before his win as the Stormy Liberal favorite. Sorrento Sky breaks from the rail and figures for a ground-saving trip off the pace. The past 10 years, the rail produced the highest percentage of Del Mar turf sprint winners, 15 percent. As a developing 3-year-old, Sorrento Sky has room to improve, and he has won 3 of 6 starts in the United States. Slider is the only other 3-year-old in the field, and he also may improve. His recent third-place finish at Keeneland was his first start in nine months. John Sadler trains Slider, who won a turf sprint stakes last year. “Our horse needs to run, ready to go, trained well,” Sadler said. “It’ll be his second start off a layup. He could be a horse for the Malibu, too.” The Grade 1 Malibu Stakes, on dirt, will be run Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.