Drayden Van Dyke © Del Mar Thoroughbred Club

DAY 27

VAN DYKE CONTINUES ON A ROLL TO AGENT’S QUIET DELIGHT

Brad Pegram has been a jockey agent for 20 years. He’s booked mounts for Danny Sorenson, Frank Alvarado, Kent Desormeaux, David Flores, Martin Garcia and currently Mike Smith and Drayden Van Dyke.

He’s had clients accomplish some extraordinary things. In a one-year period, Smith, for example, won five stakes on the 2017 Belmont Stakes Day card and rode Justify to a Triple Crown championship that concluded there this year. At the 2013 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Smith and Garcia combined to win five races.

But when asked if he’d ever had a rider on a better day-to-day “roll” than Van Dyke here recently, the answer was a plain “No.”

To recap: On Sunday, Van Dyke tied a Del Mar single-day record with seven wins in eight mounts on a 10-race card. When racing resumed Wednesday, Van Dyke won on his first two mounts, extending a consecutive race streak, started with the last three on Sunday, to five in a row.

The streak ended when Van Dyke finished second in the nightcap. But with four mounts on Thursday’s program and seven each on Friday and Saturday, there’s no telling what might lie ahead for the 23-year-old Van Dyke. For reasons that are becoming quite obvious.

“He’s talented, he’s really good,” Pegram said. “He’s getting a lot of support from some really good barns. He’s talented and he’s working hard. He’s out here every morning working horses.

“He’s very comfortable within himself right now. He’s riding with a lot of confidence, but when you’re getting on those kind of horses you can ride with that much confidence. I like seeing him ride with confidence – in himself and the horses he’s on.

“And he’s a student, he’s learned. He’s listening to the right people and he’s been taught the right way. From Tom (Proctor) to Bob (Baffert) to Mike (Smith), he’s been taught well and he has learned. He listens. And that will always pay off. Anybody who is a student of the game is way ahead of somebody who’s not.”

As for his own part in Van Dyke’s hot streak, Pegram said he feels “a little” sense of accomplishment.

“But I like to stay in the background. They’re the ones performing,” Pegram said.

The streak has propelled Van Dyke to a three-win lead (28-25) over defending champion Flavien Prat atop the meeting’s jockey standings. Van Dyke, who won the Eclipse Award as an apprentice in 2014, ranks 14^th among North American riders for 2018 with 93 wins from 417 starts and purse earnings of more than $6 million.

Van Dyke is in quest of his first Southern California riding title.

‘CRUISER A SOLID FAVORITE IN SATURDAY’S POWER-PACKED PAT O’BRIEN

Catalina Cruiser drew the No. 1 post in a field of eight and was established as the 8-5 favorite on oddsmaker Russ Hudak’s morning line for Saturday’s Grade II $200,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes.

Trained by John Sadler for Hronis Racing LLC, Catalina Cruiser has only briefly been worse than first at any point in his last two starts. That was when he broke a bit slowly in a May allowance at Santa Anita. He posted 107 Beyer speed figures in winning his last two starts.

The 4-year-old son of Union Rags, a $370,000 purchase at the Keeneland September sale in 2015, won the Grade II $200,000 San Diego Handicap on July 21 to extend his career record to 3-for-3.

Sadler also entered Horse Greedy and St. Joe Bay, but said Thursday his intention is to only run one horse in the seven-furlong event which has also attracted reigning Breeders’ Cup Sprint champion Roy H, reigning Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Battle of Midway and two-time Bing Crosby Stakes winner Ransom the Moon.

Phil D’Amato, trainer of Ransom the Moon, also has two other entrants, Vorticity and Threefiveindia.

The field from the rail: Catalina Cruiser (Drayden Van Dyke, 8-5), Vorticity (Tiago Pereira, 20-1), Threefiveindia (Joe Talamo, 15-1), Roy H (Paco Lopez, 3-1), Ransom the Moon (Flavien Prat, 5-2), Horse Greedy (Stewart Elliott, 20-1), St. Joe Bay (Tyler Baze, 10-1) and Battle of Midway (Mario  Gutierrez, 8-1).

TATTERS TO RICHES CONTINUES COMEBACK AS SHARED BELIEF CHOICE

Jeff Mullins-trained Tatters to Riches will be sent out seeking his first stakes victory, following-up an allowance-level win here on August 4, as the 2-1 morning line favorite in a field of five for Saturday’s $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes.

The former El Cajon Stakes, renamed in 2016 for the 2014 Pacific Classic champion, is at a mile on the main track for 3-year-olds.

Purchased at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale in April of 2017 for $1 million -- largest price ever by a Mullins client --Tatters to Riches debuted with a victory here in July of last year. He finished sixth in the Del Mar Futurity in September and then was off until his half-length score earlier this month.

The field from the rail: Cool Bobby (Mario Gutierrez, 5-2), Afleet Ascent (Kent Desormeaux, 3-1), Yulong Warrior (Evin Roman, 6-1), Shivermetimbers (Drayden Van Dyke, 3-1) and Tatters to Riches (Tyler Baze, 2-1).

The Shared Belief will go as the third on a 10-race program.

ELEVEN ENTERED FOR SUNDAY’S TORREY PINES

Just Grazed Me will be sent out after a second stakes victory at the meet in Sunday’s featured Grade III  $100,000 Torrey Pines Stakes at a mile on the main track for 3-year-old fillies.

Trained by Phil D’Amato for owner/breeder Nick Alexander, the daughter of Grazen was a 3 ½-length winner of the Fleet Treat Stakes on July 29 to extend her career record to 2-for-2. Just Grazed Me drew the No. 9 post in a field of 11 and will be ridden back by Tyler Baze.

The field from the rail: Royal Descendent (Tiago Pereira), Thirteen Squared (Joe Talamo), Spring Lily (Gary Stevens), Lemoona (Flavien Prat), Well Hello (Mike Smith), Zusha (Stewart Elliott), Aunt Lubie (Brice Blanc), Wicked Storm (Geovanni Franco), Just Grazed Me (Tyler Baze), Broome (Evin Roman) and True Royalty (Drayden Van Dyke).

JOCKEY NEWS: ESPINOZA ON CBS; FIGUEROA OFF MOUNTS TODAY

A crew from the CBS Evening News spent Wednesday at the track and at injured Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza’s Del Mar home filming footage for a news/feature piece on his recovery that will air nationally on the Thursday CBS broadcast, which starts at 6 p.m. in San Diego.

In other jockey news, apprentice Heriberto Figueroa, unseated when his mount Joejoe’s Kingdom made an erratic move coming out of the No. 1 post in Wednesday’s final race, will be off his four scheduled mounts Thursday.

“He has a bruised foot and pain in a toe,” agent Nelson Arroyo said via text. “We’ll play it by ear for the (coming) days.”

PAPAPRODROMOU, YU ARE WEEKEND SEMINAR EXPERTS

Trainer George Papaprodromou and handicapper Michelle Yu will provide the opinions and selections for the upcoming weekend handicapping seminars.

Papaprodromou, who won the Graduation Stakes and I’m Smokin Stakes in 2011 with Ruler of Dubai, and saddled Imperative to a third-place finish in the 2014 Pacific Classic, will do the honors on Saturday. Yu, a racing analyst and TV simulcast host at Santa Anita, will be the guest of Frank Scatoni on Sunday.

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

CLOSERS – Selected works from 160 on dirt and 15 on turf officially timed Thursday morning. Dirt – Stallwalkin’ Dude (3f, :38.80), Instagrand (5f, 1:00.60), Roadster (6f, 1:12.60); Turf – Vexatious :50.40. 

DEL MAR STATISTICS

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Wednesday, August 22, 2018 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Wednesday, August 22, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Wednesday, August 22, 2018 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 77 out of 227 -- 33.92%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 55 out of 140 -- 39.29%

Winning favorites on turf -- 22 out of 87 -- 25.29%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 23 out of 35 -- 65.71%

In-the-Money favorites -- 160 out of 227 -- 70.48%

In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 34 out of 35 -- 97.14%