By Hank Wesch

BALTAS, BAFFERT AND SHAH SAVORING SENSATIONAL WEEKEND

Trainer Richard Baltas and owner Kaleem Shah were back to work Wednesday with the good feelings lingering from major accomplishments by their horses on Sunday and, in Shah’s case, over the weekend.

Baltas celebrated his first Del Mar and first Grade I stakes victory, by Big Macher in the $300,000 Bing Crosby Handicap, by taking some stable crew members out to dinner at a Ruth’s Chris steakhouse and “had a nice time.”

Big Macher, a $16,000 claim at Del Mar a year ago, recorded his third stakes victory in his last four starts. The $180,000 winner’s share of the purse boosted the career earnings for the 4-year-old son of Beau Genius to $496,428 for owners Tachycardia Stables and Mansor.

Baltas said Big Macher came out of the race, a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win And You’re In qualifier for the $1 million Turf Sprint on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Santa Anita, in excellent shape.  The decision that lies ahead is what path to take with the bay gelding to get to the November date.

Options for a next start would include the $250,000 Grade II Pat O’Brien Stakes on Pacific Classic Day, Saturday, August 24, a top-level sprint stakes in New York, or the  Santa Anita Sprint Championship in October.

“It’ll depend on how he is, day by day,” Baltas said. “We’ll have to talk it over with the owners.”

Shah owns both 5-year-old Fed Biz and 3-year-old Bayern. Both trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Martin Garcia. Both wire-to-wire winners, Fed Biz of Saturday’s $200,000 Grade II San Diego Handicap and Bayern of Sunday’s $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.

Baffert reported that Shah had departed his San Diego residence for  Vienna, Virginia, the headquarters of the CalNet communications company he founded. “He’s very happy,” Baffert said. “It was a perfect weekend for him.

“Both horses ran like they were training and both performances were just amazing really. They just dominated. That’s why were in the business, to see who’s got the fastest horse.”

Bayern trained for the Haskell at Del Mar and was returned here after the race. Baffert is looking at races in the east, possibly the Travers at Saratoga, for Bayern and scanning the country for a Grade I stakes for Fed Biz, who is 0-for-6 at that level of competition.

SEVEN ENTERED FOR CLEMENT L. HIRSCH

Iotapa, winner of the Grade I Vanity Stakes on June 14 at Santa Anita in her last start, and multiple graded-stakes winner Fiftyshadesofhay top a field of seven entered Wednesday for Saturday’s Grade I $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes.

Three trainers, John Sadler, Jerry Hollendorfer and Bob Baffert, accounted for all seven entrants with Sadler and Hollendorfer putting in three each. In addition to Iotapa, Sadler has entered More Chocolate and Legacy. Hollendorfer’s trio is Doinghardtimeagain, Broken Sword and Parranda. Baffert conditions Fiftyshadesofhay.

The field from the rail out for the Hirsch, a Win And You’re In qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff is: Fiftyshadesofhay (Martin Garcia), Iotapa (Joe Talamo), Broken Sword (Rafael Bejarano), Doinghardtimeagain (Mike Smith), More Chocolate (Victor Espinoza), Parranda (Elvis Trujillo) and Legacy (Tyler Baze).

GRADUATION’S MOST RECENT GRADUATE WAS CUM LAUDE

The winner of Wednesday’s 63^rd running of the $100,000 Graduation Stakes for California-bred 2-year-olds will has a tough act to follow. California Chrome was a 2  3/4-length winner of the 2013 event and went on, as we all know, to victory in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

“He liked the racetrack and he handled it well (winning the Graduation),” trainer Art Sherman said. “He was still a little green when he was here last year. He never really developed and got strong as he is until he was a 3-year-old.

“Down here last year he was a horse who enjoyed learning the game. He was cool and collected, at a growing age, and we never had any problems with him. We didn’t rush him and he turned out the way he did. He was a decent horse at two. But not the kind you could say ‘Wow, next year he’s going to win the Derby.’”

Wake Up Nick, two-for-two to start his career in May and June at Santa Anita, is the 9-5 morning line favorite. The Cindago colt was purchased for $35,000 at the Barretts’ March Sale, picked out by O’Neill’s brother/assistant Dennis and owner Paul Reddam.

“So far, so good,”Doug O’Neill said.

WHAT’S IN A NAME – California Chrome scored his first stakes victory in winning the Graduation last summer. For California-bred Juveniles, the race was inaugurated in 1952.

APPRENTICE SULLIVAN TOOK ROUNDABOUT ROUTE TO RIDING

Apprentice jockey Carson Sullivan, 25, has been riding since May of last year. The victory he scored on Mon Petite on Thursday, July 24, triggering a $108.80 return was the 12^th of his career. His background triggers two questions: Where has he been, and what took him so long?

“It’s in my blood,” Sullivan said.  “I’m a fourth-generation rider. My great grandfather (Carson Kirk), grandfather (James Kirk) and father (S.J. Sullivan) rode.  My step-dad (Matt Vigliottti) also rode.” His mother, Christine Kirk, was a backstretch worker who galloped horses for major stables like Jack Van Berg, D.Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito.

Such a pedigree often leads to riding at the earliest possible opportunity, age 16. But Sullivan opted to go a different way.

He went to college at Ohio University, majoring in psychology. He gave up academic pursuits to play guitar in a band that travelled and wound up in New York. “I’ve played rock, experimental, jazz, a little bit of everything,” he said. But eventually,  he returned to his roots.

“It was calling to me even though I avoided it,” Sullivan said. “I dreamed about riding races and one day I just packed up and headed down south to my grandfather’s to learn.”

He rode at Gulfstream Park in Florida for a year, then came to California. Del Mar is his first West Coast meeting. He is represented by agent Mike Ciani. 

EDDIE’S FIRST OUT OF REAL GOOD DEAL

Eddie’s First, a 3-year-old son of Square Eddie entered in Friday’s $200,000 Real Good Deal, is being examined and treated after collapsing during training on Tuesday morning during training.

Jockey Amir Cedeno was momentarily pinned under the horse but fast action by trainers Phil D’Amato and Gary Mandella prevented major injury to either horse or rider.

“(Eddie’s First) looks great today,” trainer Doug O’Neill said Wednesday. “He just had a bad nosebleed. I don’t know if it was the humidity or what caused it, but it got to the point where he was struggling to breathe and that’s what made him collapse.

“We’re going to X-ray his lungs in the next few days and talk to the veterinarian about what it’s going to take for his lungs to get healthy and start exercising again. Hopefully they’re clean and it was an isolated incident. If there was any trauma to his lungs, then that can take a few months.”

TRAKUS FACT OF THE DAY FOR SUNDAY

Kool Kat won Sunday’s ninth race and never came close to saving ground. His second consecutive win, this daughter of Scat Daddy traveled 54 feet more than second place Personal Diary. The margin of victory was only a head, but Kool Kat’s extra ground covered equated to about six lengths more than Personal Diary’s trip.

CLOSERS – Comparative statistics for the Ship And Win Program: Through two weeks of the 2013 season, 50 Ship and Win horses raced with nine winning; through two weeks of the 2014 season, 78 have raced with seven wins … Average field size for the first two weeks of 2013 was 8.6, for 2014 the figure is 9.4 … The one Ship And Win eligible horse on Wednesday’s program is Big John B in the first race, trained by Phil D’Amato … Jockey Tyler Baze, needing three wins to reach the 2,000 career milestone,    has six mounts scheduled on the Wednesday card. Jockey Joe Steiner,  four away from 1,000 career wins, could pair it to three with a victory aboard Peradventure in Wednesday’s Graduation Stakes, his only mount of the day. Trainer Jack Carava starts the week 10 away from career victory No. 1,000 and has three scheduled starters on Wednesday … Selected workouts: Monday – Winning Prize (4f, :47.60), Fiftyshadesofhay (5f, 1:00.60), More Chocolate (6f, 1:13.80), No Silent (6f, 1:11.40); Tuesday -- Wishing Gate (7f, 1:27.20); Wednesday – Pontchatrain (3f, :36.80), Rovenna (5f, 1:00.80), Tom’s Tribute (5f, 1:01.60).   

DEL MAR STATISTICS

 Jockey Standings

(Current Through Sunday, July 27, 2014 Inclusive)

 Trainer Standings

(Current Through Sunday, July 27, 2014 Inclusive)

  Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through Sunday, July 27, 2014 Inclusive)
Winning favorites -- 20 out of 86 -- 23.26%
Winning favorites on Polytrack -- 16 out of 61 -- 26.23%
Winning favorites on turf -- 4 out of 25 -- 16.00%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 1 out of 5 -- 20.00%
In-the-Money favorites -- 52 out of 86 -- 60.47%

 Wednesday, July 30, 2014 Contact: Dan Smith 858-792-4226/Hank Wesch 858-755-1141 ext. 3793