Caracortado surged to the lead in the final stride to beat Mr. Commons by a nose Saturday in the $200,000 Del Mar Mile, with less than a length separating the first four finishers.
Ridden by Joe Talamo, Caracortado ran the distance on the turf in 1 minute, 34.24 seconds and paid $4.80 for a win bet as the 7-5 favorite. He covered the last quarter in 22 seconds flat.
''That's really moving. This horse can do that,'' Talamo said.
Mr. Commons was a half-length ahead of third-place Calimonco. Victory Pete was a head back in fourth.
''I know we only just got there, but I was confident,'' Talamo said. ''He's been coming from too far back and not getting there. But today he was up closer and I was very confident; I could feel I had a lot of horse under me.''
It was Caracortado's first win since January, when he won the Sunshine Millions at Santa Anita. The victory, worth $120,000, increased the 4-year-old chestnut gelding's career earnings to $774,105, with eight wins in 17 starts.
