Doug O'Neill record-setting day in 2015

ANOTHER FAB FIVE FOR TEAM O’NEILL – HERE’S HOW IT HAPPENED

Trainer Doug O’Neill tied the record for wins on a single day when his representatives prevailed in five of the seven races Wednesday. It equaled his accomplishment of July 29, 2015 when he won four of the first five and then took the seventh.

“What a day,” O’Neill said afterward. “Just one of those days you dream about …I thought we had a day that we could win a couple… It was just one of those days when you feel like you can hit every three-pointer, you’re shooting one while you’re falling out of bounds and it goes in.”

To expand the basketball analogy, here’s how O’Neill and his team assembled their second Fab Five in four years. With commentary provided by O’Neill assistant Leandro Mora:

First race, So Gucci (Evin Roman, $49.20) – “Only one guy in the barn liked her chances, the exercise rider, and he liked her a lot. She’s one of those horses that can be kind of bi-polar, even though she’s got ability, and you don’t know what she’s going to do. She could lose the race right out of the gate. But we took her to the gate (training)a lot of times and the starter did a heck of job. That helped big time.”

Third race, Oil Can Knight (Abel Cedillo, $24.60) – “We found the key to the horse is, he hates the whip. So we told the rider, no whip. He carried it, but he didn’t use it. He won on the horse at Los Alamitos and we just reminded him. Plus there was a little less pressure this time, so he did well.”

Fourth race – Vegan (Mario Gutierrez, $15.80), - “When she debuted (May at Santa Anita) we thought she was a cinch. So we were disappointed when she didn’t win then or the times since. We put cotton balls in her ears, just for the heck of it. I don’t know if that helped, but it was a hell of a day for her.”

Fifth race – Convince (Rafael Bejarano, $15.40) – “Bejarano had a one-track mind. When we put him up he said, “What do you think, shall I put her on the lead.’ We thought we had nothing to lose, So he ruled the race. It looks like when she runs in front she has more stamina, more focus.”

Seventh race – Ocean Fury (Rafael Bejarano, $6.20) – “That was the one race on the card I thought we would win because she had trained so beautifully.  In the morning she had shown she had so much ability.”   

VASILIKA TABBED 7-5 FAVORITE IN SATURDAY’S YELLOW RIBBON

Vasilika will break from the No. 4 post as she seeks to add another chapter to her claim-to-fame story in Saturday’s $200,000 Grade II Yellow Ribbon Handicap.

The 5-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Skipshot, trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, will be shooting for her fifth straight graded stakes victory and 13^th win in 15 starts since being claimed for $40,000 in February of 2018 at Santa Anita.

Eight were entered to take on Vasilika. Five of them are Southern California-circuit based, the other three shipping in for the 1 1/16-mile turf event.

Valedictorian, one of the out-of-state shippers, arrived late Wednesday night from New Jersey. The 5-year-old daughter of Temple City, trained by Kelly Breen and owned by Epic Racing, has 12 wins in 28 career starts and career earnings of $672,765. She has run six times in 2019 with three wins, a second and a third for earnings of $303,330.

Her last start resulted in a 2 ¾ length victory in a Grade III event at Monmouth Park on June 22. The first assignment to travel with a stakes horse has brought Nicole “Niki” Raker, a foreman in the Breen stable, to California for the first time in her life.

“(Valedictorian) probably handled the travel better than I did,” Raker said Thursday morning. “She went to the track this morning and she seemed to be her old self. She’s kind of a grumpy girl, but she’s definitely the big girl in the barn.

“Winning $300,00-plus (in 2019) might not seem like a lot out here, but it’s a pretty big deal for us.”

The field from the rail: Beau Recall (Drayden Van Dyke, 7-2), Youngest Daughter (Brice Blanc, 20-1), Storm the Hill (Rafael Bejarano, 5-1), Vasilika (Julien Leparoux, 7-5), Lemoona (Mario  Gutierrez, 12-1), Valedictorian (Carlos Hernandez, 6-1), Causeforcommotion (Norberto Arroyo, Jr., 20-1), Toinette (Ruben Fuentes, 6-1) and Elysea’s World (Joe Talamo, 12-1).

The Yellow Ribbon goes as the eighth on a 10-race card.

AMALFI SUNRISE FAVORED AMONG SIX IN GRADE II SORRENTO

Simon Callaghan, who saddled Bellafina to win the 2018 Sorrento, will send out morning line favorite Amalfi Sunrise and third choice Shedaresthedevil in Saturday’s 51^st running of the Grade II $200,000 six-furlong sprint that is the major stepping stone to the Grade I $300,000 Del Mar Debutante on August 31.

Both of  Callaghan’s 2-year-old fillies broke their maidens at first asking in June, Amalfi Sunrise at Santa Anita, Shedaresthedevil at Churchill Downs while trained by Norm Casse.

“I’m really happy with both,” Callaghan said Thursday morning. “Amalfi is probably a naturally faster filly and I think would be forwardly placed. The other filly will probably be mid-pack early and then be running at the end. I think she’ll get better as the distances get better.”

While Callaghan will be here for the Sorrento, his focus will be at Saratoga before and after the race. Bellafina runs in the Test Stakes there, with an approximate post time of 2:06 p.m. Pacific time. Saturday evening, Callaghan will head to Saratoga for the annual summer sales.

The field from the rail Comical (Julien Leparoux), Powerfulattraction (Joe Talamo), Amalfi Sunrise (Norberto Arroyo, Jr.), Shedaresthedevil (Drayden Van Dyke), Princess Mo (Geovanni Franco) and Shanghai Keely (Irving Orozco).

The Sorrento goes as the fifth on a ten-race program.

EIGHT ENTERED FOR SUNDAY’S LA JOLLA HANDICAP

A field of eight, among them Runhappy Oceanside Stakes winner Jasikan, was entered Thursday for Sunday’s Grade III $150,00 La Jolla Handicap, the second leg in the three-race grass stakes series for 3-year-olds. The series concludes with the $250,000 Del Mar Derby on September 1.

Jasikan is one of five horses that will compete in the first two races of the series. A winner by a nose over Nolde in the one-mile Run Happy Oceanside, Jasikan, owned by Hronis Racing and trained by John Sadler, will be joined by Rijeka (3^rd in the Runhappy Oceanside), Golden Birthday (4^th), Gregorian Chant (5^th) and King of Speed (11^th) in the 1 1/16^th mile La Jolla.

“(Jasikan) had a nice breeze on the turf and he looks good,” Sadler said. “The Del Mar Derby (1 1/8 miles) may be too long for him, so we’ll try him at this distance and possibly skip the Derby.”

The post position draw was scheduled later Thursday. The entrants, in alphabetical order: Golden Birthday (Joe Talamo), Gregorian Chant (Norberto Arroyo, Jr.), Jasikan (Flavien Prat), Kingly (Mario Gutierrez), King of Speed (Victor Espinoza), Neptune’s Storm (Drayden Van Dyke), Rijeka (Ruben Fuentes) and Stubbins (Rafael Bejarano).

GLATT, CUSH ARE HEADLINERS FOR WEEKEND HANDICAPPING SEMINARS

Trainer Mark Glatt and professional horseplayer Paul Cush will be the guests on the handicapping seminars for the third week of the meeting.

Glatt, who has seven stakes victories at Del Mar, will offer selections and comments on Saturday while Cush will be the guest of host Frank Scatoni on Sunday.

The free seminars are held from 12:45-1:30 p.m. at the Seaside Terrace near the top of the stretch.

CLOSERS – Selected works from 123 on dirt and 15 on turf officially timed Thursday morning: Dirt – Just a Smidge (6f, 1:16.00); Turf – Bolo (3f, :36.20), Devil’s Dance (4f, :47.00), Just Grazed Me (4f, :47.60), Pantsonfire (4f, ::48.60).

DEL MAR STATISTICS

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Wednesday, July 31, 2019 Inclusive)

 Trainer Standings

(Current Through Wednesday, July 31, 2019 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Wednesday, July 31, 2019 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 40 out of 89 -- 44.94%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 25 out of 53 -- 47.17%

Winning favorites on turf -- 15 out of 36 -- 41.67%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 10 out of 14 -- 71.43%

In-the-Money favorites -- 67 out of 89 -- 75.28%

In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 14 out of 14 -- 100.00%