Phil D'Amato © Benoit Photo

SORRENTO DONE, D’AMATO SETS SIGHTS ON OTHER WEEKEND STAKES

Trainer Phil D’Amato reported Saturday morning that 2-year-old filly Elm Drive came out of her victory in Friday’s Grade II, $200,000 Sorrento Stakes “really good” physically.

And if the Kentucky-bred daughter of Mohaymen, a $165,000 purchase at the Ocala sale in March who carries the colors of Little Red Feather Racing stays that way, she’ll next be seen in the Grade I, $300,000 TVG Del Mar Debutante on September 5.

“Yup, absolutely,” was D’Amato’s response when the Debutante was mentioned in the winner’s circle after she prevailed by a head over Baoma Corp’s Eda in a stretch-long duel while covering six furlongs in 1:10.64.

“She broke on top then Juan (Hernandez) got her to rate, make a move and fight off a rival to her outside the length of the stretch. I just thought that’s the epitome of class. Very professional, and I think she’s the type of filly that the longer (the races) the better.”

Having chalked up one stakes victory for the weekend, D’Amato will send out Raymundos Secret (6-1) and Charmaine’s Mia (4-1) in Saturday’s Grade II, $200,000 Yellow Ribbon and narrowly favored (2-1) Cathkin Peak in Sunday’s Grade III, $150,000 La Jolla Stakes as a possible closer to three consecutive big days.

Irish-bred Cathkin Peak made his U.S. debut at Del Mar in late November a winning one and followed that with a December victory in the $80,000 Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita. Kicking off his 3-year-old campaign this year, Cathkin Peak was second to soon-to-be Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World in the $100,000 Pasadena Stakes in February and has gone unraced since.

“He had a couple of little things we needed to deal with, but he never left the barn and he has come back to train really well,” D’Amato said. Cathkin Peak will go  1 1/16 miles, the longest assignment of his career, in the La Jolla – second leg in the grass stakes series for 3-year-olds during the Del Mar summer. His previous starts were all at a mile.

“He’s really tactical,” D’Amato said. “If there’s not a lot of pace he can be up close, if there is he can sit back and make a late move. Juan can play the break and try to have him in the right spot.”

The field for the La Jolla from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parenthesis: Stilleto Boy (Kent Desormeaux, 6-1); Wyfire (Kyle Frey, 12-1); Hudson Ridge (Abel Cedillo, 5-2); Cathkin Peak (Juan Hernandez, 2-1); Zoffarelli (Drayden Van Dyke, 3-1),  and Sword Zorro (Umberto Rispoli, 4-1).

SOLIS’ STAMP COULD BE ON BOTH THE BEST PAL AND GRADUATION

Trainer Walther Solis will send out two colts in each of the featured events for 2-year-olds in the next two days. Finneus and Thirsty Always are set to go in Saturday’s Grade II, $200,000 Best Pal Stakes. Mr. T’s Thirsty and Rock N Rye in Sunday’s $100,000 Graduation Stakes.

They are all California-bred sons of Stay Thirsty owned in partnerships and bred by Terry C. Lovingier.

“Stay Thirstys have really good minds,” Solis said Saturday morning at his Del Mar barn, gesturing toward Finneus who was being given a raceday veterinary check. “Even the colts, they act like older horses.”

Finneus comes in to the Best Pal off a maiden victory at Santa Anita in June. Thirsty Always is 2-for-2 with the most recent being a stakes at Pleasanton on the Northern California fair circuit. The duo of Rock N Rye and Mr. T’s Thirsty are the 8-5 favorite and 2-1 co-second choice, respectively, on Jon White’s morning line for Sunday’s Graduation Stakes.

Being a graded stake with a larger purse, the Best Pal would be a bigger feather in the cap of Solis, whose lone Del Mar Stakes victory to date came with My Fiona, the dam of Finneus, in the 2014 CTBA Stakes.

Solis, 59, formerly managed Golden Eagle Farm in Ramona for John and Betty Mabee, the longtime patriarch and matriarch of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and three-time Eclipse Award winners in the 1990s as the top Thoroughbred breeders in North America.

“I managed the farm for the Mabees for five years and Best Pal was before my time,” Solis said. “But when I was there we had General Challenge and a lot of other big horses. It would be nice to win a race like this. It’s a hope for a small guy.”

TWO WEEKS OUT, A NEVER-TOO-EARLY LOOK AT CLASSIC POSSIBLES

The racing office continues to troll for interest from horsemen based in the east for the 31^st running of the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic. The deadline for nominations is set for Thursday at midnight – although supplemental nominations at a cost of $7,500 will be taken up to five days later.

But with only two weeks to go before the signature event of the summer meeting – and highlight of a four-stakes card on August 21 – it’s not too early to check the list of those currently considered “possibles.”

In alphabetical order by trainer it is: Richard Baltas – Ginobili; Bob Baffert – Classier; Craig Dollase – Cupid’s Claws; Todd Fincher – Sheriff Brown; Richard Mandella – Royal Ship and Tizamagician; Todd Pletcher – Dr. Post;  John Sadler – Tripoli; John Shirreffs – Express Train and Midcourt, and Dallas Stewart – Chess King.

HORSE OWNERS INVITED TO HORSEMEN’S LOUNGE SALUTE TODAY

Horse owners onsite at Del Mar today are invited to join an Owner Appreciation Reception being held in the Horsemen’s Lounge on the third floor of the Stretch Run.

The Thoroughbred Owners of California and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club are co-hosting the event for all licensed owners. There will be light snacks, champagne and a limited edition TOC wine tumbler (while supplies last).  Members of the TOC also will share their plans for current initiatives with attendees.

CLOSERS – Del Mar’s leading jockey, Flavien Prat, made a successful start to his three-day soiree to Saratoga, guiding Public Sector ($3.80) to victory for trainer Chad Brown in the Grade II, $200,000 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes Friday … Congratulations are in order for Del Mar Thoroughbred Club director Bo Derek who, it was revealed earlier in the week, was married around Christmas time to fellow actor John Corbett at a secret ceremony. The couple have been in a relationship for two decades … Selected works, courtesy of clocker/handicapper Toby Turrell, from 171 officially timed Saturday morning: I’m So Anna (4f, :51.00); Miss Stormy D (4f, :47.40); Smooth Like Strait (4f, :49.20); Kamui (5f, :59.60); Magic On Tap (5f, :59.20); Tapwater (5f, :59.00); The Great One (5f,  1:00.40).

Del Mar Statistics

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Sunday, August 6, 2021 Inclusive)   

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Sunday, August 6, 2021 Inclusive)   

Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through Sunday, August 6, 2021 Inclusive) 

 Winning favorites -- 36 out of 114 -- 31.58%
Winning favorites on dirt -- 21 out of 66 -- 31.82%
Winning favorites on turf -- 15 out of 48 -- 31.25%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 10 out of 19 -- 52.63%
In-the-Money favorites -- 74 out of 114 -- 64.91%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 16 out of 19 -- 84.21%