$100,000 La Jolla Handicap Draws Strong Field of Ten

Prospect Park tops the field as the morning line favorite at odds of 5-2 for trainer Clifford Sise, Jr. A dark bay son of Tapit, he has been on the board in seven of his nine starts and is trying to earn the first graded stakes victory of his career. He will be switching to the turf for the first time and was last seen finishing second in both the Los Alamitos Derby (G2) and Affirmed Stakes (G2). Kent Desormeaux will be aboard and they will break from post position nine.

Papacoolpapacool trying to return to form

Second choice at 3-1 on the morning line is Papacoolpapacool for trainer Philip D’Amato. A gelded son of Temple City, he has won four of his ten starts and is a multiple stakes winner. He is trying to return to form after a pair of average efforts and was last seen finishing fifth in the Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar. Gary Stevens will be aboard and they will break from post position six.

Om aiming for first graded stakes win

Also in the field at morning line odds of 7-2 is Om, the only horse with the distinction of defeating Triple Crown winner American Pharoah which he did in his maiden win as a juvenile. Trained by Dan Hendricks, he has two wins from five starts and returned to win an optional claiming race two starts back off of an eleven-month layoff. Fernando Perez  will be in the irons from post three.