Medina Spirit © Benoit Photo

MEDINA SPIRIT SUPPLEMENTED TO SUNDAY’S SHARED BELIEF STAKES

While his Kentucky Derby victory remains in limbo pending a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission ruling, the next start for Medina Spirit was made quite clear this morning.

Medina Spirit was supplemented, at a cost of $1,000, to Sunday’s $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes, a one-mile event for 3-year-olds on the Del Mar main track. It will be the first start for the son of Protonico since finishing third, beaten 5 ½-lengths by Rombauer in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 15.

“I’ve entered him, he’s running,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said. “I figure I’ll use this as a prep for the Penn ($1 million Pennsylvania Derby, September 25) and see how he likes this track.”

Days earlier, Baffert had indicated the Shared Belief was being given strong consideration but he was waiting to see another workout before finalizing a decision. Medina Spirit covered five furlongs in :58.60 on Monday, tied with stablemate Ax Man for the fastest of 68 works at the distance and better than a half-second quicker than the next most rapid.

“He worked a little fast but he came out of it good,” Baffert said. “He’s going to need the race, coming off a layoff, and he’s got to go a mile. But if I can run him here that will set him up to go on to the Pennsylvania Derby.”

Medina Spirit joining previously committed Rock Your World in the Shared Belief would set up a rematch of the Santa Anita Derby in which Rock Your World prevailed by 4 ¼ lengths to go three-for-three to that point in his career.

Rock Your World, trained by John Sadler, would subsequently finish 17^th, beaten 24 ¼ lengths by Medina Spirit, in the Kentucky Derby and sixth, beaten 22 lengths by Essential Quality in the Belmont Stakes on June 5.

The field for the Shared Belief Stakes from the rail with jockeys in parentheses: Willy The Cobbler (Victor Espinoza); Medina Spirit (John Velazquez); Rock Your World (Umberto Rispoli); Team Merchants (Mario Gutierrez); The Great One (Flavien Prat), and Stilleto Boy (Kent Desormeaux).

BAFFERT HAS A PAIR FOR SATURDAY’S GRADE II PAT O’BRIEN

Bob Baffert, who counts seven Pat O’Brien victories among his record 140 stakes victories at Del Mar, will saddle late-blooming 3-year-old Classier and accomplished 4-year-old Eight Rings in Saturday’s 36^th running of the Grade II, $200,000 seven-furlong extended sprint.

“I was thinking about running (Classier) in the Shared Belief, but he’s a horse that’s still slowly developing,” Baffert said. “Mike Smith worked him (6f in a bullet 1:11 last Saturday) and said we should run him seven-eighths for now. He’s a horse that I think is really going to improve with time.

“(Eight Rings) went way off form but I think he’s coming back now. It’s not an easy spot for him, though. There are a lot of tough horses in there.”

The field for the Pat O’Brien from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Ginobili (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-1); Howbeit (Kyle Frey, 6-1); Surfing Star (apprentice Jessica Pyfer, 30-1); Mo Mosa (Ramon Vasquez, 10-1); Eight Rings (Abel Cedillo, 6-1); Classier (Mario Gutierrez, 12-1); Brickyard Ride (Juan Hernandez, 8-1); Flagstaff (Joe Bravo, 3-1); C Z Rocket (Peter Miller, 5-2), and California Street (Wayne Barnett, 30-1).

SIX SET TO GO A MILE IN FRIDAY’S TRANQUILITY LAKE STAKES

The stakes portion of the penultimate weekend of racing for the summer season kicks off with Friday’s $80,000 Tranquility Lake, a mile main track assignment for older fillies and mares.

A field of six was entered with Agave Racing Stable and partners’ Miss Bigly established as the 8-5 favorite on oddsmaker Jon White’s morning line.

Trainer Leonard Powell will saddle Harper’s Gallop, a 5-year-old California-bred daughter of Suances who comes in on a three-race winning streak and drew the outside post position.

“There were two options for her, the Solana Beach (August 15) for Cal-breds on the turf or this race on the dirt,” Powell said. “The Solana Beach came up pretty salty with some nice fillies in there. So we decided to stay on the dirt knowing that it would probably be a smaller field.

“We are pleased with the outside post. There’s plenty of speed to the inside so from the outside post we can stalk the speed and go from there.”

The field for the Tranquility Lake from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Paige Anne (Umberto Rispoli, 5-2); Miss Stormy D (Giovanni Franco, 3-1); Miss Bigly (Juan Hernandez); Nasty (Joe Bravo, 5-1); First Star (Abel Cedillo, 8-1), and Harper’s Gallop (Drayden Van Dyke, 5-1).

RACING’S NORMAL UPS AND DOWNS SUPERSIZED FOR PEREIRA, AGENT

Tiago Pereira has been riding horses professionally for nearly 30 of his 44 years. His agent, Patty Sterling, is the daughter of a trainer, sister of a jockey and has been around horse racing a long time as well.

They’re accustomed to the rapidly changing highs and lows of the sport. But the roller coaster-like ones of last weekend were kind of extreme, even in their experience.

On Saturday, Pereira rode Tripoli to a $15 upset win in the TVG Pacific Classic for trainer John Sadler. It was the first Grade I score at Del Mar for the native of Brazil whose international victories include the 2010 $10 million Dubai World Cup aboard Gloria De Campeao.

It was certainly a meeting-maker for the rider who had gone 0-for-48 to start the session.

“As far as the 0-for-48 goes, lots of the trainers we regularly ride for were cold too,” Sterling said this morning. “It wasn’t a reflection of how he’s riding. Mentally, he stayed fine. It only takes one big win to turn things around.”

Like the TVG Pacific Classic, where Sadler and owner Kostas Hronis stayed with Pereira when they could have pursued other options and were rewarded with what both described as a perfect ride.

“The way he ran (when second in the July 17 San Diego Handicap), and the barn saying he had more distance in him gave us confidence,” Sterling said. “You always have confidence when you ride for John Sadler. It was a good morning line (5-1); he figured right there with all the other horses.”

One day later, Pereira and six other riders were involved in a seven-horse spill. Veteran agent Vince DeGregory, 89 and around the racetrack since age 16, said “I’ve never seen anything like it.” That none of the horses or riders incurred critical injuries, he called a “near miracle.”

Sterling’s adult children, both in their 20s and not racetrack regulars, joined her in a trackside box for both the Saturday and Sunday cards. They were surprised their mother hadn’t been more forthcoming about Pereira’s chances on Saturday before the TVG Pacific Classic. They experienced the run of more intense emotions going to the hospital to check on his progress on Sunday.

Pereira was one of several riders who were “body sore” after the incident. Sterling’s other client, Cesar Ortega, appears to have been the most seriously injured. She reported he underwent surgery for a pancreas problem and is expected to remain hospitalized for around five more days.

CLOSERS -- Meet-leading rider Flavien Prat will be at Saratoga on Friday and Saturday for assignments in eight stakes races over the two-day span will calls from trainers Todd Pletcher, Bob Baffert, Mark Hennig and Chad Brown. The biggest are to ride Bobby Bo (2-1) for Baffert in Friday’s Albany Stakes and Miles D (12-1) for Brown in Saturday’s $1.25 million Travers Stakes … Del Mar-based jockeys Victor Espinoza and Edwin Maldonado have mounts in the $800,000 Charles Town Classic on Friday evening. Espinoza will be aboard Rushie (5-1) for trainer Mike McCarthy. He rides Ce Ce for McCarthy in the Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday. Maldonado will ride Restrainedvengence (10-1) for Val Brinkerhoff at Charles Town … Tyler Baze, who had the original call on Restrainedvengence before being involved in Sunday’s spill, has taken off his mounts at Del Mar the next three days while experiencing body soreness, according to agent Jack Carava. A decision on whether to ride the final week of the meeting will be made soon … Selected works from 87 on dirt and 24 on turf officially timed this morning, courtesy of clocker/handicapper Toby Turrell: Dirt – Mucho Unusual (4f, :48.80); Loud Mouth (5f, 1:01.40); Big Fish (6f, 1:14.40); Turf – Charmaine’s Mia (4f, :51.00).

Del Mar Statistics

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Sunday, August 22, 2021 Inclusive)    

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Sunday, August 22, 2021 Inclusive)   

Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through Sunday, August 22, 2021 Inclusive) 

Winning favorites -- 72 out of 206 -- 34.95%
Winning favorites on dirt -- 42 out of 115 -- 36.52%
Winning favorites on turf -- 30 out of 91 -- 32.97%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 19 out of 34 -- 55.88%
In-the-Money favorites -- 144 out of 206 -- 69.90%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 29 out of 34 -- 85.29%