Abel Cedillo © Benoit Photo

CEDILLO IS PROVING QUITE ABLE IN FIRST FULL DEL MAR SEASON

The motivation for Abel Cedillo to leave a good business and comfortable situation based at Golden Gate Fields in San Francisco, and venture full-time to Del Mar this summer, is common to most jockeys.

“My dream is to ride big races like the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders’ Cup and for that, I thought this is a good place to come,” Cedillo said Thursday morning outside the stable area racing office.

Initial indications – nine wins in the first 16 days of the meeting to be fifth in the jockey standings – are that he might have come to the right place.

“I’m really happy with everything so far, I’ve been given a lot of opportunities by owners and trainers,” Cedillo said.

A native of Guatemala, Cedillo immigrated to Florida late in the first decade of the century to a Thoroughbred farm in Ocala where his father was working. Upon arrival, “I never had a dream to ride horses,” Cedillo said. But after being around them for a while, as a groom, hot walker and general stable hand, the idea began to form.

An uncle – noting that Abel had the physique to be a jockey - gave encouragement and instruction and overcame Cedillo’s inclination to simply work with the animals from ground level.

So, in time, when stalls were cleaned and other morning tasks finished, Cedillo was given opportunities on horseback and learned how to gallop, then breeze and eventually ride races.

Cedillo started out professionally at Calder Race Course near Miami, but found the Florida jockey colony tough to crack and moved to the opposite end of the country, Golden Gate Fields in San Francisco where he has been based since his apprentice season of 2010.

It was there that Cedillo recorded most of his 1,143 career wins, No. 1,000 being recorded on December 30 of last year. It was there that he recorded his first graded stakes victory aboard Pepper Crown in the Grade III San Francisco Mile. And there that Cedillo accounted for most of the more than $19.8 million in career purse earnings.

And it was there that a call from agent Tom Knust, who was willing to get Cedillo going on the more lucrative Southern California circuit, provided the initiative for the 30-year-old with a wife (Jasmin) and 2-year-old son (Abel, Jr.) to embark on his summer venture here.

“I was here about three years ago for around two weeks and then left,” Cedillo said. “I’m here to stay now and I’m going to work harder and harder to get better and better.”

Doug O’Neill and Mark Glatt have been Cedillo’s biggest supporters. Cedillo came highly recommended by Jonathan Wong and other Northern California-based trainers.

“When he rode here the first time he didn’t have a lot of success but we used him a lot because my dad thought he was a really good rider,” Ryan Glatt, Mark’s son and assistant said. “He’s ridden three horses for us (at the meeting) and won three, so we’re going to keep using him.”

Cedillo has a travel assignment for Glatt on Sunday aboard Law Abidin Citizen in the Longacres Mile in Washington.

SCHRODINGER FAVORED OF SEVEN IN SATURDAY’S BEST PAL

Kaleem Shah’s Schrodinger, a $500,000 purchase at the March sale in Ocala, Fla., was made the 2-1 favorite on oddsmaker Russ Hudak’s morning line in a field of seven for Saturday’s $200,000 Grade II Best Pal Stakes.

The six-furlong sprint is a stepping stone to the $300,000 Grade I Del Mar Futurity on September 2, the closing day of the meeting.

Schrodinger, a son of Justin Phillip trained by Simon Callaghan, won his racing debut at Los Alamitos on June 30 and has two bullet works here since then.

Schrodinger is one of five Best Pal entrants acquired via sales for prices ranging from $200,000 to $875,000. Mark Glatt-trained Collusion Illusion is in the middle of the group, having gone for $300,000 at the Ocala, Fla., sale in January.

Collusion Illusion, a son of Twirling Candy, debuted here on July 21 with a half-length victory over Defense Wins at five furlongs.

“Going in we thought he was a really nice horse and obviously he performed that day,” said Ryan Glatt, son and assistant to Mark. “The original plan was to go straight to the Futurity with him, but he’s trained so well and it’s not a big field so we’re going to give it a shot.”

The field from the rail: Wrecking Crew (Mike Smith, 4-1), Raging Whiskey (Abel Cedillo, 12-1), We’re Still Here (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-1), Schrodinger (Flavien Prat, 2-1), Collusion Illusion (Joe Talamo, 8-1), Thanks Mr. Eidson (Norberto Arroyo, Jr., 6-1) and Fore Left (Mario Gutierrez, 5-2).

NINE ENTERED FOR SUNDAY’S RANCHO BERNARDO HANDICAP

A field of nine that features the 2-3 finishers from last month’s Great Lady M Stakes at Los Alamitos was entered Thursday for Sunday’s 48^th running of the Grade III Rancho Bernardo Handicap.

Anonymity and Exuberance chased home Marley’s Freedom in the 6 ½-furlong Grade II Great Lady M and will be going the same distance on the more traditionally configured oval here on Sunday.

Anonymity, on-the-board in all eight of her career starts for LNJ Foxwoods Stable and trainer Richard Mandella, was second to Yuvetsi in last year’s Rancho Bernardo and went on to finish third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Yuvetsi is entered to defend her race title.

The post position draw was later Thursday. The field, in alphabetical order: Anonymity (Flavien Prat), Best of Me (Rafael Bejarano), Danuska’s My Girl (Geovanni Franco), Exuberance (Joe Talamo), Kram (Mike Smith), Lady Ninja (Drayden Van Dyke), Show It N Moe It (Victor Espinoza), Yuvetsi (Ruben Fuentes) and Zusha (Tiago Pereira).

O’NEILL HAS TWO (NOT) OF A KIND IN THE SOLANA BEACH

Trainer Doug O’Neill will send out Don’t Sell and Lynne’s Legacy in Friday’s $150,000 Solana Beach Stakes. And the fact that O’Neill trains them, and they are progeny of prominent California sires, is about all the horses have in common,  according to O’Neill assistant Leandro Mora.

“One has speed (Don’t Sell) and the other closes,” Mora said. “Don’t Sell usually runs short (distances), which is why I think she’ll be the speed of the race and Lynne’s Legacy is more of a router.”

Don’t Sell owned by J. Paul Reddam is by Reddam’s prolific sire Square Eddie. Lynne’s Legacy is by the late, venerable sire Unusual Heat.

“Lynne’s Legacy is the only Unusual Heat that everybody around the barn likes,” Mora said. “Usually the Unusual Heats are hard to handle, but she’s nice.”

The field from the rail: Mo See Cal (Flavien Prat, 5-1), Coco Kisses (Ruben Fuentes, 20-1), Battleground State (Tiago Pereira, 30-1), Don’t Sell (Mario Gutierrez, 12-1), Fiery Lady (Martin Garcia, 12-1), Pulpit Rider (Drayden Van Dyke, 5-2), Donut Girl (Abel Cedillo, 30-1), Lynne’s Legacy (Rafael Bejarano, 7-2), Sneaking Out (Mike Smith, 3-1) and a Walk in the Park (Norberto Arroyo, Jr., 6-1).

DONUTS DAY II SET FOR SATURDAY

The second Donuts Day at Del Mar is set for Saturday from 8-10 a.m. at the Seaside Cabana. The program offers fans a chance to watch morning workouts while enjoying free donuts, coffee and orange juice and also ask questions of announcer Trevor Denman and his guests: jockey Drayden Van Dyke, trainer Doug O’Neill and bugler Les Kepics.

Activities for youngsters include face painting, entertainers, giveaways and meet-and-greets with the Del Mar mascot Pony Boy.

EURTON, LEAL HEADLINE WEEKEND HANDICAPPING SEMINARS

Trainer Peter Eurton and horseplayer James Leal will be the experts to provide selections and comments on the weekend handicapping seminars for Week 4 of the meeting.

Eurton, whose eight stakes wins at Del Mar include the prestigious Del Mar Debutante (Weemissfrankie, 2011), Del Mar Handicap (Ashleyluvssugar, 2016) and Pat O’Brien (Giant Expectations, 2017) will do the honors on Saturday.

Leal will be the guest of Frank Scatoni on Sunday.

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

CLOSERS – Selected works from 128 officially timed Thursday: Dirt – Anonymity (3f, :37.00), Bedrock (4f, :47.00), Big Score (4f, :49.40), Paradise Woods (4f, :50.20), Flor de La Mar (5f, 1:02.40); Turf – La Force (3f, :36.80), Just Grazed Me (4f, :47.60), Seranitsa (4f, :49.60), Simply Breathless (4f, :48.80), Bolo (5f, 1:01.60) and Pantsonfire (5f, 1:04.00).  

DEL MAR STATISTICS

Jockey Standings

(Current Through Wednesday, August 7, 2019 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings

(Current Through Wednesday, August 7, 2019 Inclusive)

Winning Favorites Report

(Current Through Wednesday, August 7, 2019 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 53 out of 129 -- 41.09%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 35 out of 76 -- 46.05%

Winning favorites on turf -- 18 out of 53 -- 33.96%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 15 out of 24 -- 62.50%

In-the-Money favorites -- 93 out of 129 -- 72.09%

In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 22 out of 24 -- 91.67%