DAY 26

BATTLE OF MIDWAY ENTRY MAKES O’BRIEN A BATTLE OF THE STARS

Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer opted to make Saturday’s Grade II $200,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes the first race in the unexpected comeback of 2017 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Battle of Midway.

And with the entry of the 4-year-old son of Smart Strike – along with those of Catalina Cruiser, Ransom the Moon, Roy H and two others – the seven-furlong sprint became potentially the race of the Del Mar summer meeting and the most power-packed anywhere in 2018.

The Pat O’Brien is a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, which Battle of Midway won by a half-length in a stretch duel with Sharp Azteca as Del Mar hosted its first Breeders’ Cup on November 4 of last year.

It appeared that would be Battle of Midway’s last race – ending a meteoric one-year career of five wins in 10 starts and earnings of more than $1.2 million -- when he was dispatched to stand stud in Kentucky. But when the stallion career proved unsuccessful, Battle of Midway was returned to training and has put in a series of works, the last four here since mid-July.

Hollendorfer had options for stakes of lesser value against less major competition, but chose the toughest one.

“We’re not in there to play around,” Hollendorfer assistant Dan Ward said Wednesday morning. “It was either that or don’t run (for a long time) and we’re ready to run.

“But what a field.”

In addition to Battle of Midway, among the highly accomplished entries are (in alphabetical order):

Catalina Cruiser – Winner of the San Diego Handicap to extend his career to 3-for-3. The “back-up” to Accelerate for the TVG Pacific Classic, whose services weren’t necessary when Accelerate won the signature event of the summer by a record 12 ½-length margin.

Ransom the Moon – Back-to-back winner of the Grade I Bing Crosby Handicap, which often determines the meeting’s sprint division championship.

Roy H – A two-time Grade I winner, with one being the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint, and runner-up in the Bing Crosby to Ransom the Moon in both 2017 and 2018. The Eclipse Award winner in the Male Sprint division for 2017.

“Three Grade I winners, a Grade II winner (Catalina Cruiser) and two Breeders Cup winners on this track – in the past year,” Ward pointed out, with a justifiably appreciative nod of the head.

The decision to enter Battle of Midway put Derek Lawson, agent for jockey Flavien Prat, in the uncomfortable, unenviable position of having to choose between Battle of Midway – whom Prat had been aboard for seven of his past eight races, culminating with the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile score – and Ransom the Moon.

Prat will ride Ransom the Moon while Mario Gutierrez picks up the mount on Battle of Midway.

Six were entered Wednesday. The post position draw was scheduled later in the day, but the entrants, in alphabetical order are: Battle of Midway (Mario Gutierrez), Catalina Cruiser (Drayden Van Dyke), Horse Greedy (Stewart Elliott), Ransom the Moon (Flavien Prat), Roy H (Paco Lopez) and St. Joe Bay (Tyler Baze).

COULD SATURDAY’S EDITION BRING UPGRADE FOR THE PAT O’BRIEN?

The Pat O’Brien Stakes was a Grade I event, the highest of ratings, from 2009-2011 but was then dropped a notch to Grade II status where it has remained since.

Could a boost be forthcoming if Saturday’s 33^rd running lives up to its potential?

That will be up to the American Graded Stakes Committee, an 11-member panel that decides such things. Del Mar Executive Vice President of Racing Tom Robbins is a longstanding member of the of the organization which was founded by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders’ Association in 1973.

“I’m sure this (quality of race) will count,” Robbins said Wednesday morning. “But one year doesn’t get a race (upgraded) just like one bad year doesn’t get it dropped.

“The committee looks at figures for five years and it’s sustained quality in a race that they’re looking for.”

Saturday’s winner will join Goldencents, Appealing Tale, Masochistic and Giant Expectations in the five-year span of Pat O’Brien champions.

“We show the charts of all the races for the last five years and the committee considers a lot of factors,” Robbins said. “Sometimes a strong (edition) can be a factor. But I’ve been on the committee for a long time and I can say we all take our responsibilities very seriously and try to be fair with every decision.”

The committee convenes in late November or early December and its decisions are announced within a month or so.

VAN DYKE’S RECORD-TYING SUNDAY; WAS HE ‘IN THE ZONE?’

When an athlete in other sports has a day like Drayden Van Dyke did on Sunday – a Del Mar record-tying seven wins – a phrase commonly heard is he or she was “In the zone.” The zone being a place where mental state of mind and physical prowess combine to bring about astounding feats.

It’s understandable when the athlete’s tools are inanimate objects like a bat or ball. But can the accomplishments of a jockey, aboard a living, breathing, 1,000-pound animal, ever be categorized as due to being “in the zone.”

It’s a matter of opinion, of course.

“I would think so,” said Brian Beach, agent for Victor Espinoza, whose record, set September 4, 2006, Van Dyke matched on Sunday. “I’m sure the positive energy and positive vibe that Drayden was feeling I’m sure kind of filtered over to his horses. Everybody says that horses can feel the emotion of the person on their back. Whether they’re confident, scared, happy or sad.

“I would imagine that he was translating a lot of positive vibes over to them on Sunday. I would think that could be considered being in the zone.”

Beach was not Espinoza’s agent when the Hall of Fame rider won his seven – Tony Matos was. But Beach has been in daily contact with Espinoza as he recovers from the cracked vertebra incurred in a training accident last month.

Espinoza was engaged in exercise therapy much of Sunday, Beach said. But he did make it in front of a TV set to watch Van Dyke complete the day with a win on Ohio in the 10^th race.

“Victor was very happy for Drayden,” Beach said.

For the record, here are the winners, with payoffs and trainers who boosted Van Dyke into the saddle. Neighborhood Bully (2^nd race, $12.80, Phil D’Amato), Quebec (3^rd race, $8.00, Richard Baltas), Triple Shot (4^th race, $26.20, Bill Morey), Tantara (5^th race, $6.20, John Sadler), Catapult (8^th race, $12.20, Sadler), Policy (9^th race, $3.80, Mike McCarthy) and Ohio (10^th race, $9.60, McCarthy).

Sadler, a double benefactor of Van Dyke’s Sunday spree, had this to say on the “In the Zone” question:

“You’ve got to have a really good horse,” Sadler said. “He was in a really good frame of mind and making all the right moves. But you’ve got to have the horse doing what you want when you want it to.

“What (jockeys) get when they’re riding really nice horses is they get a lot of confidence and that certainly helps.”

VAN DYKE SURGES TO JOCKEY LEAD; MILLER TOPS TRAINERS

The seven-victory day on Sunday moved Drayden Van Dyke into a one-win advantage over Flavien Prat in the jockey standings while Peter Miller holds a seven-win pad over Doug O’Neill entering Week Six of the seven-week summer meeting.

With Prat hobbled by a three-day suspension that limited him to stakes races, Van Dyke made up ground nearly as fast as the seven horses he booted home Sunday. Van Dyke has 26 wins from 99 mounts, Prat 25 from 94.

Van Dyke was accorded the Foundation Detox Jockey of the Week national honor for the second time during the meeting. The same honor was bestowed in July after Van Dyke won the Grade II Eddie Read Stakes with Catapult and San Diego Handicap on Catalina Cruiser.

Van Dyke won nine races from 29 mounts last week.

Peter Miller has his sights set on a third summer meeting title after opening a 21-14 lead over Doug O’Neill with Jerry Hollendorfer and Richard Baltas one more back in the win column.

“I’ve got a lot of horses ready to run over the last two weeks of the meeting,” Miller said. “Of course I’d love to win another title at Del Mar, who wouldn’t?”

Miller won 15 races from 126 starters in 2017, finishing in a tie for third, three behind co-champs Baltas and Phil D’Amato. In 2017, Miller shipped many of his better horses in from San Luis Rey Downs to run here – a strategy that had produced a Santa Anita title – and was disappointed in the results.

“This year, I’ve got all my dirt horses training here and it has worked. The turf horses are still at San Luis Rey.”

WAY TO VERSAILLES FAVORED  IN FIELD OF 7 FOR TRANQUILITY LAKE

Peter Miller-trained Way to Versailles, a winner of the Grade II Royal North Stakes at Woodbine in her last start, is the 2-1 morning line favorite in a field of seven for Friday’s featured $75,000 Tranquility Lake Stakes for older female runners at one mile.

John Martin-trained Mended, coming in off a runner-up finish in last month’s Iowa Distaff at Prarie Meadows, is the second choice at 5-2. Bob Baffert-trained Vale Dori, freshened since a third-place finish in the $75,000 Santa Lucia at Santa Anita, is at 7-2. John Sadler will attempt to keep his stakes-winning roll going with Shenandoah Queen, most recently fifth in the Grade I Clement L. Hirsch.

The field from the rail: Mended (Ricardo Gonzalez, 5-2), Tizway That Way (Alonso Quinonez, 20-1), Turkish Tabby (Mario Gutierrez, 15-1), Way to Versailles (Flavien Prat, 2-1), Munny Spunt (Evin Roman, 8-1), Shenandoah Queen (Tyler Baze, 7-2) and Vale Dori (Drayden Van Dyke, 7-2).

Post time for the Friday card moves back from 4 o’clock to 3:30 to account for late summer daylight hours.

CLOSERS – Of course it’s mainly because one is still active and the other isn’t, but TVG Pacific Classic winner Accelerate supplanted Justify atop the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Accelerate got 337 points, including six first-place votes. Justify got 31 first place votes but was left off several ballots due to his retirement and had 319 points…Selected works from 262 officially timed over the last three days: Monday – Time and Chance (4f, :47.60), Dream Tree (5f, 1:00.40), Moonshine Memories (5f, 1:00.20), Shivermetimbers (5f, 1:01.80), Sigalert (5f, 1:02.00), Tatters to Riches (5f, 1:00.40), The Aurelia Factor (5f, 1:00.20), Diamondsandpearls (6f, 1:14.00), True Royalty (6f, 1:12.60); Tuesday – Roy H (3f, :38.80), American Anthem (4f, :48.60), Collected (5f, 1:01.80), Hoppertunity (5f, 1:01.00), Power Player (5f, 1:00); Wednesday – Rubilinda (3f, :35.40), Miss Sunset (5f, 1:02.00).

DEL MAR STATISTICS

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Sunday, August 19, 2018 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Sunday, August 19, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Sunday, August 19, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 73 out of 219 -- 33.33%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 52 out of 135 -- 38.52%

Winning favorites on turf -- 21 out of 84 -- 25.00%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 20 out of 32 -- 62.50%

In-the-Money favorites -- 153 out of 219 -- 69.86%

In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 31 out of 32 -- 96.88%