A start at a new distance in Sunday’s Grade 3 Cougar II Stakes at 1 1/2 miles at Del Mar may be what Kiss Today Goodbye needs to end a 10-race losing streak that has lasted nearly 30 months. Kiss Today Goodbye is not the only runner being tried at an unfamiliar distance. Of the seven runners in the $125,000 Cougar II Stakes, four are racing at 1 1/2 miles for the first time, and two were beaten in a single start at the trip. Rimprotector won an allowance race at 1 1/2 miles at Golden Gate Fields last November. Kiss Today Goodbye, owned by John Sondereker, was third by 4 1/4 lengths to Defunded in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita May 29. The result gives trainer Eric Kruljac hope Kiss Today Goodbye can be effective at a longer distance. “I was encouraged,” Kruljac said. “You’re not going to get an opportunity like this too often. The longer the better, so far. It will be a big question going an extra quarter. :: DRF's 2023 Del Mar headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. “I think it’s a good time to make this move.” A winner of 3 of 21 starts, Kiss Today Goodbye is winless since the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita in December 2020. All 10 losses have been in graded stakes, but the Gold Cup was the first time Kiss Today Goodbye had finished in the top three since a second by a half-length to Azul Coast in the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Del Mar in November 2021. Azul Coast, trained by Bob Baffert, starts from the rail in the Cougar II Stakes in his first start since a second in the 2022 Native Diver last November. Baffert said on Thursday that he had limited options with Azul Coast, considering the stable has Defunded on schedule for the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar on July 29. “There wasn’t a spot for him,” Baffert said of Azul Coast. Azul Coast was last of seven in the Grade 3 Tokyo City Cup at 1 1/2 miles as a 3-year-old in 2020. The Cougar II Stakes is the first start in California for Bye Bye Bobby, the easy winner of the San Juan County Commissioners Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at SunRay Park in New Mexico in his last start in May. Bye Bye Bobby has yet to start at 1 1/2 miles. The Cougar II Stakes is even an experiment for Rimprotector, who was third in the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano Stakes at about 1 3/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita June 18. Rimprotector raced wide in the stretch and was beaten a nose for second. “As big of a head as he has, I couldn’t believe he lost the photo,” trainer Tim McCanna said. Rimprotector’s win at 1 1/2 miles was on the synthetic track at Golden Gate Fields. This will be Rimprotector’s stakes debut on dirt. McCanna expects Rimprotector to run steadily through the race. “He loves the distance,” McCanna said. “I’m hopeful he’ll get in the mix. He’s more of a grinder. He just keeps coming.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.