Richard Mandella © Benoit Photo
TRAINER RICHARD MANDELLA NAMED 2024 PINCAY AWARD WINNER
Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella has been named the 20th winner of the coveted Laffit Pincay, Jr. Award and will be presented with it at Del Mar by Pincay during ceremonies on Saturday, August 31, Pacific Classic Day at the seaside oval.
The award, named for the Hall of Fame rider who is one of the greats of the game, is given annually to those who have served the sport of racing “with integrity, extraordinary dedication, determination and distinction.”
Mandella, 74, has trained horses on his own since 1976 and has collected more than 2,300 winners and $157 million in purses.
He becomes the sixth trainer to win the award.
HERNANDEZ, SADLER EXTEND THEIR LEADS IN DEL MAR STANDINGS
Week four is in the books and Juan Hernandez and John Sadler continue to lead their respective divisions as we approach the halfway mark of the summer meet at Del Mar. Hernandez has built a sizable lead in the jockey standings while John Sadler holds off an ever-present Bob Baffert in the trainer standings.
Hernandez had another banner week, winning eight races, three of them stakes and two of those with Baffert. He won the Graduation Stakes Friday with R Heisman for trainer Peter Miller and then took both of the 2-year-old graded stakes races over the weekend with Nooni in the G3 Sorrento on Saturday and Getaway Car in the G3 Best Pal on Sunday. When all the dust had settled Sunday evening, Hernandez had 23 victories and a seven-win lead in the standings.
Umberto Rispoli is his closest challenger with 16 victories. He won five races last week including the G2 Yellow Ribbon aboard Anisette on Saturday. Antonio Fresu kept pace with Rispoli with five wins of his own last week and now has 13. Hector Berrios is next with 11 followed by Reylu Gutierrez with nine, Kyle Frey with eight and Kazushi Kimura and Armando Ayuso with 7 wins each. Abel Cedillo and Edwin Maldonado round out the Top 10 with six victories a piece.
As for earnings, there are three jockeys in seven figures. Hernandez leads the way with over $1.6 million followed by Rispoli with over $1.2 million and Fresu with over $1.1 million.
The trainer standings remain tight. Sadler, with three wins last week, sits on top with 11 victories. Baffert also had three wins to keep pace and has nine total, two back of Sadler. Defending champ Philip D’Amato is next with eight followed by Michael McCarthy’s seven wins. A trio of trainers are knotted at six wins a piece. They are Mark Glatt, Peter Miller and Doug O’Neill. Another trio round out the Top 10. They are Carla Gaines, Tim Yakteen and Jeff Mullins with five wins each, Mullins posting a three-win day on Saturday.
Baffert has taken the lead in earnings among the trainers with $953,760.
Hronis Racing leads all owners with eight victories.
Betting favorites on the dirt continues to be a good wager. They’re winning nearly half of the time at 48%.
Field sizes at Del Mar continue to be some the best in the nation with an 8.47 average overall. The AFS on dirt is 8.31 and on the turf it’s 9.20.
SEVEN GO LONG IN FRIDAY’S $100,000 CTT & TOC STAKES AT DEL MAR
Seven marathon turf runners will line-up for the 27th running of the $100,000 CTT & TOC Stakes at Del Mar Friday. They’ll pass the finish line twice on their 1 3/8’s mile journey, which, along with the G2 Del Mar Handicap, is the longest grass race of the summer season.
Five of the eight have run in marathon races in the past, none more successful than Linda’s Gift, a talented 5-year-old mare out of the Richard Mandella barn. The daughter of Arrogate has been on a roll since running fourth in the Kathryn Crosby at Del Mar last fall. She rattled off three straight wins: the 1 3/8’s mile G3 Red Carpet at Del Mar in November; the 1 ½ mile, $100,000 Astra in January at Santa Anita and the 1 ¼ mile, G3 Santa Ana Stakes in February.
After a brief three-month respite, Linda’s Gift tried Grade I company and finished fifth in the 1 1/8 mile Gamely behind recent G2 Yellow Ribbon winner Anisette. But, proving that it might have just been the steep company, Linda’s Gift rebounded with a nice win in the 1 ¼ mile, $100,000 Possibly Perfect.
For her, it appears in terms of distance, the more the better.
“She seems to like it,” Mandella says. “She’s run very well laying second, it just depends on the pace, how fast they’re going.”
That doesn’t mean Mandella will instruct jockey Tiago Pereira where to place her in the race.
“He knows her better than I do,” Mandella says with a smile. “It’s best to have the best horse.”
Trainer Michael McCarthy has brought a pair of contenders to the dance. Sunset Glory won last out in an entry-level allowance race, winning by 3 ¼ lengths on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course last month.
“She’s two-for-two off of an extended layoff,” McCarthy points out. “I thought her win down here the other day was very good. She got over the turf course well and came out of it well. Aron (Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbreds Partners) has a bunch of turf fillies for various stakes down here and this filly fit the bill and I think a mile and three-eighths should be within her reach.”
And the inside post will help her save ground in the early going.
“I’m hoping she’s amenable to relaxing in the first three-eighths,” McCarthy notes. “Just don’t set any land speed records early.”
McCarthy’s other charge is Duvet Day, an Irish-bred who’s had the unfortunate luck to run into a very hot Linda’s Gift in three of her last four races.
“She always shows up,” McCarthy says. “A mile and three-eighths is better than a mile and a quarter for her. Very consistent, always trying. She likes it down here so we’re expecting a solid performance from her.”
Trainer Philip D’Amato has loaded up his arsenal and brings a trio of challengers to the race. Musical Rhapsody has run five times against Linda’s Gift since last summer’s meet at Del Mar and lost all five races, finishing second in three of the matchups: the Red Carpet, the Astra and the Santa Ana.
In the races she hasn’t faced Linda’s Gift over the past year, she’s won, scoring in an entry level allowance race in April at Santa Anita and then right back in the 1 ½ mile, $100,000 Santa Barbara in May. She finished second to Linda’s Gift last out in the Possibly Perfect.
D’Amato’s other entries are Federalist Papers and Sun Of Hill, a Brazilian-bred filly who finished fourth in her latest, the $100,000 Osunitas on opening weekend at Del Mar.
The CTT & TOC, which stands for the California Thoroughbred Trainers and Thoroughbred Owners of California, will go off as the seventh race on the eight-race Friday card. Probably post time is 6 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and morning line odds: Sunset Glory (Umberto Rispoli, 5-1); Linda’s Gift (4/5); Abhita (Hector Berrios, 30-1); Duvet Day (Juan Hernandez, 4-1); Federalist Papers (Antonio Fresu, 15-1); Sun Of Hill (Kazushi Kimura, 12-1); Zeyaraat (scratched) and Musical Rhapsody (Mike Smith, 9/2).
COOLING OUT: The first sign that summer’s end is closing in: The first post on Friday has been moved up from 4 p.m. to 3 p.m. It’s been nearly a month since opening day at Del Mar and the sun is setting nearly an hour earlier than it did back on July 20…It’s full speed ahead to the G1 Futurity for Bob Baffert’s Getaway Car after he came out of his win in the G3 Best Pal Sunday “Super good”…Darn, you’re going to be in Hong Kong on Pacific Classic Day. No problem. Sing Tao Daily is reporting that the Hong Kong Jockey Club is planning to simulcast the G1 FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic, as well as some of the undercard races, on August 31. Actually, they’re a day ahead of us so it will be September 1 for those in Hong Kong…Hronis Racing claimed Kitty Kitana out of Sunday’s fourth race for $100,000. Previously trained by Brian Koriner, ‘Kitty’s’ new home will be in the John Sadler barn…Notable works this week all on the dirt: Monday – Easter (4f, :50.60); Full Serrano (4f, :48.20) and Muth (6f, 1:13.20). Tuesday – Tahoe Sunrise (5f, 1:00.20). Wednesday – Newgate (4f, :49.80); Ruby Nell (4f, :48.80) and None Above the Law (5f, 1:00.80).