Aron Wellman
DEL MAR 2019 IS MORE THAN ANOTHER HOMECOMING FOR WELLMAN
It will be 227 days from the December 2 end of the 2018 Fall racing season at Del Mar to Wednesday’s start of the 80th Summer season.
And 227 days of absence, coupled with a winter/spring of misfortune and discontent at Santa Anita, appears to have made horsemen’s hearts even fonder than usual for the return to the seaside track for the annual 36-day, seven-week season.
Take Aron Wellman for example.
“It’s no secret we’ve (California Thoroughbred industry) had a rough go of it for several months,” Wellman, President and Founder of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, said Monday morning after watching workouts with trainer Mike McCarthy. “I don’t think there’s any horseman, at any level, who isn’t looking forward to Del Mar and starting fresh again.”
Wellman started the Eclipse group from offices in Del Mar and has seen it achieve success across the country. But, he said, the 2019 season here is more than a homecoming.
“As a Californian through and through, but with a national stable, I know it’s important to support Del Mar and California racing at this time,” Wellman said. “Eclipse has 25 horses here now, which is more than we’ve ever had in eight years. Our stock is about evenly distributed between Saratoga and here.”
Wellman had praise for Del Mar Executive Vice President of Racing Tom Robbins, Racing Secretary David Jerkens, Janine Sahadi and the entire racing office.
“They work hard and I think they do a great job without getting enough credit,” Wellman said.”
Eclipse Partners figures to be represented in several stakes during the meeting.
Ohio, winner of the Kilroe Mile in March at Santa Anita is set to run in the Grade II $250,000 Eddie Read Stakes on Sunday. Paved will make her 4-year-old debut in Friday’s $85,000-added Osunitas Stakes. Pakhet, who ran in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last fall at Churchill Downs while trained by Todd Pletcher, is slated for an allowance event on Friday with bigger things in mind for later in the meeting. Valiance, a 3-year-old daughter of Tapit who won the Open Mind Stakes at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on June 30, is a candidate for the $300,000 Grade I Del Mar Oaks on the Pacific Classic Day card August 17.
Gray Magician, recently second in the Indiana Derby, might jump into the second or third legs of the grass series for 3-year-olds which begins with the Runhappy Oceanside Stakes on opening day. Recently purchased Bulletproof One is intended for the $100,000 CTBA Stakes on July 31. Vibrance, second in the Chandelier and third in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies is on track for her, as yet undetermined, 3-year-old debut. Policy could go in an allowance race during the second week of the meeting or the $150,000 Real Good Deal Stakes for California-bred 3-year-olds on July 27.
MANDELLA’S BACK AT ‘THE BEACH’ WITH OMAHA BEACH
Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella led Omaha Beach, recovered from an entrapped epiglottis that required a late scratch of the Kentucky Derby favorite and surgery, to the track Monday morning for a gallop, then took time to comment.
“I don’t have big plans with him other than the Breeders’ Cup in the fall,” Mandella said. “He’s just galloping now, getting him legged up, and I may start breezing him in the next week or two. There’s a chance I might run him in the 3-year-old stakes at the end of the meeting. If it works out. We’ll see how it goes.”
The Shared Belief, formerly the El Cajon, is a $100,000 mile event on Sunday, August 25.
“I’m particularly glad to be back at Del Mar this year,” Mandella said. “It seemed like there was a black cloud over Santa Anita and anything that could go wrong did go wrong. What a shame for a track as great as that. Hopefully we start here with fresher faces and a fresh outlook.”
Mandella has Anonymity, second in the Great Lady M at Los Alamitos, as a possible for the Rancho Bernardo (Grade III, $100,000, August 11) or an outside chance at the Clement L. Hirsch (Grade I, $300,000 July 28). United, second in the Whittingham at Santa Anita in May, is entered in Wednesday’s second race, a possible stepping stone to the Grade II $250,000 Del Mar Handicap on August 17.
JASIKAN TABBED AS FAVORITE IN OPENING DAY RUNHAPPY OCEANSIDE
Jasikan, an import from his native Ireland making his third U.S. start, was made the 9-5 favorite on oddsmaker Russ Hudak’s morning line for the $100,000 Runhappy Oceanside Stakes on Wednesday.
The traditional opening day feature for 3-year-olds going a mile on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course drew a field of 12.
Jasikan broke his maiden in his second start at Dundalk in November of last year and was purchased by Hronis Racing and brought to the West Coast for trainer John Sadler. Third in the Singletary at Santa Anita in April, the bay colt came back for an optional claiming level win there on May 27 under Joel Rosario.
The Oceanside field from the rail: Manhattan Up (Tiago Pereira, 12-1), Roger That (Martin Garcia, 20-1), Jasikan (Flavien Prat, 9-5), Legends of War (Rafael Bejarano, 6-1), King of Speed (Kent Desormeaux, 6-1), City Rage (Drayden Van Dyke, 15-1), More Ice (Norberto Arroyo, Jr., 15-1), Gregorian Chant (Geovanni Franco, 7-2), Rijeka (Ruben Fuentes, 20-1), Nolde (Victor Espinoza, 8-1), Golden Birthday (Joe Talamo, 20-1), Synthesis (Mario Gutierrez, 30-1).
COMING IN HOT, MEET LEADERS FROM SANTA ANITA AND LOS ALAMITOS
Flavien Prat, who has won or shared in two of the last three Del Mar riding titles, enters the 2019 meeting off a solid victory in the Santa Anita meeting. Prat notched 82 wins during the long, late December to late June, Arcadia meeting, besting Joel Rosario by 24. Prat posted 23 wins to capture the Spring/Summer portion, which began in mid-April.
Five-time Del Mar champion Doug O’Neill took the Santa Anita training title with 52 wins, 10 more than Richard Baltas. O’Neill, like Prat, had 23 wins to top the Spring/Summer portion.
At the nine-day Los Alamitos meeting, which concluded Sunday, Peter Miller notched two wins on the final day to edge Bob Baffert, 5-4, for the training title. Apprentice Jorge Velez, 21, had nine victories, two more than Geovanni Franco, to claim the riding title.
BAFFERT (WHO ELSE?) HAS THE NUMBERS IN FUTURITY/DEBUTANTE NOMS
Nominations for the juvenile division championship races at the end of the meeting, the Del Mar Debutante for 2-year-old fillies and Futurity for 2-year-old males, closed June 14. And to the surprise of absolutely no one, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert had by far the most submissions.
There were 137 nominations for the Debutante, which Baffert has won seven times, and 20 of them were Baffert trainees. Simon Callaghan, aiming to add a third straight Debutante victory to go with Moonshine Memories in 2017 and Bellafina in 2018, has four nominees of which one, Saralin, is for Bellafina owner Kaleem Shah and partners.
Of the 187 nominees for the Futurity, 51 bear the Baffert stamp. Ten of those are owned by Gary and Mary West, who notched their first Futurity victory in 2018 with Baffert-trained Game Winner. The Wests’ world of Futurity possibles consists of: Astrologer, Beachcombing, End Zone, Full Impact, Heros Reward, High Velocity, Malibu Star, Perfect Sense, Pit Boss and Winning Moment.
Baffert has a record 14 Futurity victories, among them a string of seven in a row from 1996 to 2002.
CLOSERS – The first opportunity for turf works on the Southern California racing circuit in some time drew 37 takers Monday morning. Selected works from the group: Trustini (3f, :38.00), Ritzy A.P. (4f, :50.80), Souter (4f, :51.80), Space Talk (4f, :51.00), War Chest (4f, :48.80), Bowie’s Hero (5f, 1:03.80), Majestic Eagle (5f, 1:02.60), Ohio (5f, 1:04.80) … There were an additional 45 works on the main track.