DEL MAR, Calif. – The lasting significance of first stakes race on Saturday at Del Mar is unclear, but the $100,000 Daisycutter Handicap offers as much handicapping intrigue as the Grade 1 Bing Crosby and Grade 2 San Diego Handicap later on the card. Nine fillies and mares were entered to go five furlongs on turf in the Daisycutter, race 7, and a case can be made for most. The field includes three Phil D’Amato trainees – Elm Drive, a graded winner and the 123-pound highweight, stakes winner Connie Swingle, and sharp speedster Runninwiththeboyz. While all three D’Amato trainees are proven sprinters, the horse to beat in the Daisycutter might be a filly shortening from a series of mile races. Stay and Scam finished second and third in a pair of graded turf races before defeating California-breds last out in the Fran’s Valentine at Santa Anita. Stay and Scam could have started as a contender in the one-mile Osunitas last Sunday, but trainer Doug O’Neill and owner J. Paul Reddam will shorten her to five furlongs. :: DRF's Del Mar Handicapping Packages: Get everything you need to play the races with confidence. “We huddled up and the consensus was [the Daisycutter] was the best spot for her,” O’Neill said. “The other option was the Osunitas. We just weren’t feeling that.” Stay and Scam passed the Osunitas for a return to the Del Mar turf course where she is a two-time winner. The outside post is a challenge for Stay and Scam, but she has enough tactical speed to establish position before being pushed wide on the turn. Stay and Scam has won six races and $382,760 from 13 starts. Jockey Mario Gutierrez will assume his regular mount. The Daisycutter field includes Antifona, a 3-year-old facing older; Itzel, an allowance winner with speed; and Doris Mae, back from a long layoff. Antique Silver looks overmatched, and Ever Smart prefers longer. Elm Drive should vie for favoritism; Daisycutter favorites have won just one of the last 10 runnings. Elm Drive is dropping in class from a pair of Grade 3s, having finished third in the Giant’s Causeway at Keeneland and fifth in the Unbridled Sydney at Churchill Downs. “In neither race did she disgrace herself,” D’Amato said. “She laid it down with the best filly-mare grass sprinters in the country. We brought her back, freshened up, and she couldn’t be doing any better.” Elm Drive, 5 for 18 lifetime, typically rallies from just off. Antonio Fresu is her rider. Runninwiththeboyz wired a second-level allowance on the Santa Anita hillside course last out, her first start for D’Amato. “She definitely seems like a filly who knows she won last time,” D’Amato said. “She’s fresh, happy, and is going to flaunt her speed.” Edwin Maldonado rides the speedster, whose chance depends partly on how fast she and pace rival Itzel go early. As for Connie Swingle, she has not raced since October 2022. “She had a couple minor issues that all kind of happened one after another, but she’s back on track and training very well,” D’Amato said. “She should be ready to go.” Regular rider Kyle Frey has been working Connie Swingle, who is 6 for 10 in her career. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.