Neptune's Storm © Benoit Photo
HAVING WEATHERED THE WORST, IT’S BACK TO RACING
An unusually strong series of storms dropped three inches of rain combined Wednesday and Thursday on Del Mar, validating the decision made days earlier to cancel the Thanksgiving Day race card and concurrent activities.
But with what was predicted to be the worst of the storms over, and forecasts for improving weather, Del Mar re-opened for business Friday with a program of nine races, all to be run on a main track labelled as “good” to start. The “Turf Festival” that was planned for the final four-day week of the meeting has been compacted to the closing weekend with four of the seven graded stakes on turf to be contested Saturday and three on Sunday. Purses for the seven stakes total $1.3 million.
First post will be at noon both days. With sunshine and wind, primary ingredients for drying things out, forecast for Friday and Saturday, it’s anticipated that all the stakes will be run over the Jimmy Durante Turf Course.
Track oddsmaker Russ Hudak spent a good portion of Wednesday and Thursday – with a break for Thanksgiving dinner – going over past performance sheets and assigning numbers to the 204 horses entered for 20 weekend races, paying particular attention to the stakes.
“I’ve done Breeders’ Cups, and the Del Mar summer meeting also finishes with a flourish, so it (workload) wasn’t that unusual,” Hudak said. “But it’s always a little more intense when you have shippers coming in and you have the weather and other factors to consider.”
What follows is a rundown of the stakes with selected comments from Hudak, starting with the $300,000 Grade I events – the Hollywood Derby on Saturday and Matriarch on Sunday – followed by the Saturday and Sunday undercard stakes.
NEPTUNE’S STORM FAVORITE IN WIDE OPEN HOLLYWOOD DERBY
Hudak said he found the 1 1/8-mile test for 3-year-olds, “almost impossible” to assess.
“You have a lot of horses with identical running styles and they’ve beaten each other in the past,” Hudak said. “There’s always Chad Brown to consider and I know John Velazquez riding for him will draw a lot of attention. But Peter Miller’s horse (Mo Forza) jumped up and won the Twilight Derby and Richard Baltas’ (Neptune’s Storm) went back to Belmont Park and won a stakes there last month.
“Nobody can be sure to get a good trip, which means so much in turf racing, so I think there’ll be a lot of middle-priced horses when it comes down to it.”
The field from the rail: Mo Forza (Paco Lopez, 5-1), Kingly (Mario Gutierrez, 20-1), Uncle Bull (Joe Talamo, 20-1), Digital Age (Javier Castellano, 6-1), Neptune’s Storm (Abel Cedillo, 9-2), Nolde (Victor Espinoza, 6-1), Proud Pedro (Tiago Pereira, 30-1), Henley’s Joy (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-1), Standard Deviation (John Velazquez, 6-1), Moody Jim (Flavien Prat, 6-1), Mr Dumas (Joe Rocco, Jr., 30-1), Originaire (Heriberto Figueroa, 20-1) and Succeedandsurpass (Rafael Bejarano, 12-1).
The Hollywood Derby goes as the eighth on a 10-race card.
GOT STORMY IS THE ONE TO BEAT IN MATRIARCH
With a win and two runner-up finishes in consecutive Grade I starts, the most recent in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile, Mark Casse-trained Got Stormy looms large over a field of 11 in the Matriarch.
“She’s clearly the one to beat,” Hudak said. “She’s in great form and figures to run her race. But there have been some very good horses upset in the Matriarch in the past and there a lot of good horses in this one that figure to go off at a really big price.”
The field from the rail: Storm the Hill (Rafael Bejarano, 20-1), Lakerball (Evin Roman, 30-1), Significant Form (John Velazquez, 9-2), Mucho Unusual (Abel Cedillo, 15-1), Toinette (Flavien Prat, 7-2), Simply Breathless (Drayden Van Dyke, 15-1), Got Stormy (Tyler Gaffalione, 5-2), Painting Corners (Paco Lopez, 30-1), Daddy Is A Legend (Manuel Franco, 8-1), Giza Goddess (Brice Blanc, 20-1) and Juliet Foxtrot (3-1).
The Matriarch goes as the seventh of 10 races on a Sunday program starting at noon.
ODDS ARE ON EVEN RACES WHEN IT COMES TO SATURDAY STAKES
The three graded stakes leading up to the Grade I Hollywood Derby on Saturday have been scheduled for the even-numbered races 2-4-6.
First up is the Grade III, $100,000 Jimmy Durante Stakes, which goes as the second on the 10-race program. It attracted 14 two-year-old fillies for the one mile turf run.
From the rail: Lookintogeteven (Victor Espinoza, 20-1), Alms (Paco Lopez, 9-2), Awesome Ella (Scratched), Laura’s Light (Abel Cedillo, 15-1), Croughavouke (Flavien Prat, 6-1), Overjoyed (Mike Smith, 6-1), Homehome (Mario Gutierrez, 30-1), Wise Rachel (Joe Talamo, 15-1), Seahawk Lisa (Jorge Velez, 20-1), A G Indy (Rafael Bejarano, 20-1), Almost A Factor (Geovanni Franco, 30-1), Princesa Caroline (Javier Castellano, 7-2), Applecross (John Velazquez, 8-1) and Guitty (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-1).
The Grade III $100,000 Red Carpet Handicap, rescheduled from Thursday’s cancelled program, goes as the fourth. Eight older fillies and mares entered for the 1 3/8-mile route.
From the rail: Vibrance (J.C.Diaz, Jr., 10-1), Lostintranzlation (Flavien Prat, 4-1), Strike At Dawn (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-1), Tiny Tina (Geovanni Franco, 6-1), Curlin’s Journey (Ruben Fuentes, 15-1), Keeper Ofthe Stars (Abel Cedillo, 3-1), Zuzanna (Paco Lopez, 12-1) and Siberian Iris (Rafael Bejarano, 5-2).
The Grade II $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap, race No. 6 on the day, attracted 10 older males for the 1 1/16-mile run.
From the rail: River Boyne (Flavien Prat, 4-1), Ritzy A.P. (John Velazquez, 6-1), Next Shares (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 10-1), Om (Paco Lopez, 6-1), Sacred Life (Javier Castellano, 5-2), Majestic Eagle (Rafael Bejarano, 20-1), Prince Earl (Geovanni Franco, 9-1), Ronald R (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-1), Cleopatra’s Strike (Scratched) and Andesh (Joe Talamo, 20-1).
ONLY ODD THINGS ABOUT DeMILLE, TURF CUP ARE RACE NUMBERS
The two graded stakes before the Matriarch on Sunday are slated as the third and fifth on the 10-race program.
The Grade III $100,000 Cecil B. DeMille, which goes as the third, has 13 two-year-old males entered for the mile event.
From the rail: Hit The Road (Victor Espinoza, 5-1), Encoder (John Velazquez, 8-1), Kanderel (Jorge Velez, 5-1), Hariboux (Drayden Van Dyke, 9-2), Albert Park (Florent Geroux, 12-1), Fore Left (Mario Gutierrez, 12-1), Goliad (Flavien Prat, 7-2), Liar Liar (Rafael Bejarano, 12-1), War Beast (Abel Cedillo, 20-1), Midnight Jostar (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 20-1), Smooth Like Strait (Geovanni Franco, 12-1), Last Opportunity (Manuel Franco, 15-1) and Go Time (Paco Lopez, 20-1).
The Grade II $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup, rescheduled from Friday, carded as the fifth race, has 10 older males entered for the 1 ½-mile marathon.
The field from the rail: Ward ‘n Jerry (Florent Geroux, 15-1 ), Brown Storm (Abel Cedillo, 15-1), Zestful (Joe Talamo, 8-1), High Promise (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 15-1), Chosen Vessel (Tyler Baze, 20-1), Cleopatra’s Strike (Manuel Franco, 7-2), Oscar Dominguez (John Velazquez, 6-1), Itsinthepost (Drayden Van Dyke, 5-1), Overdue (Mike Smith, 5-1) and United (Flavien Prat, 5-2).
SIX TOP RIDERS FROM EAST TO PARTAKE IN STAKES FEAST
Six East Coast-based riders, four of them among the top 10 in the nation for 2019 money earnings, are scheduled to ride at Del Mar on Saturday and Sunday, with major assignments for all coming in the seven graded stakes those two days.
Javier Castellano, No. 3 in North America with more than $24.1 million in purse earnings, will be here on Saturday to ride Princesa Caroline in the Jimmy Durante, Sacred Life in the Seabiscuit and Digital Age in the Hollywood Derby, all for Chad Brown, before returning to New York.
John Velazquez, No. 6 with more than $18.1 million in earnings, has calls on Applecross for Richard Baltas in the Jimmy Durante, Ritzy A.P. for Dan Blacker in the Seabiscuit and Standard Deviation for Brown in the Hollywood Derby. Velazquez will stay over for five Sunday assignments, among them Encoder for John Sadler in the Cecil B. DeMille, Oscar Dominguez for Baltas in the Hollywood Turf Cup and Significant Form for Brown in the Matriarch.
Velazquez has six stakes victories at Del Mar, all in 2017. Four of the victories came during the two days when the track made its inaugural hosting of the Breeders’ Cup and two others were accomplished later in that meeting. His last Del Mar stakes win was aboard Mo Town in the 2017 Hollywood Derby.
Castellano has two Del Mar stakes wins: Annals of Time in the 2016 Hollywood Derby and Rushing Fall in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Also arriving for the weekend are: Manuel Franco (No. 8, more than $15.6 million) for five on Sunday; Tyler Gaffalione (No. 10, $14.3 million-plus) for three on Sunday; Florent Geroux (No. 12, nearly $11 million, four on Sunday) and Paco Lopez (No. 14, in excess of $9.5 million) who has three on Saturday and four on Sunday.